The Way It Is
by AriesZombieReBornBalorPrincess
Summary: Zoe was born and raised in Bluebell, Alabama. Candice had stayed with Harley. She's friends with Wade. They have a very close relationship, when jealousy comes into play, will they remain friends or will they lose the friendship they've had since they were toddlers?
1. Chapter 1

**_Random idea, once again. I was going to have them younger but I went against that. I will have flashbacks of their childhood throughout the story. I wasn't going to post this yet, but what the hell? I hope you guys like it._**

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><p>Zoe finished her chores for the night and headed up to her room. Her parents were out for the night, leaving her the house to herself. It wasn't as if she could have a party. They were only going to be gone for a couple of hours. Zoe had went out and spent some time with her friends. When she returned home she had to finish her chores before bed.<p>

Zoe had born and raised in Bluebell, Alabama. She loved the centric little town. All the events. Candice had to make a huge choice in her life. She wanted her daughter to have her father in her life. Not one pretending but her real father. It was a hard choice but finally love had rung supreme in the end.

"Is he at it again?" Zoe asked pushing her window open. Wade climbed off the tree brunch shutting the window behind him.

"All day, I need to be away. Again, I'll be gone before your parents wake up, Zo." It wasn't nothing new for Wade to climb through her window in the middle of the night. He had been doing it for the last 6 years now. Every morning he would be gone before anyone woke. On occasion he had remained sleeping in her bed, the nights that her parents were out of town.

"No need, they know and they don't mind, at least I don't think so," Zoe told him climbing back into her bed. "They haven't exactly told me how they feel about it, but they can't stop me from letting you crash the night." Wade sat on the bed to take his shoes and socks off. He tossed his shirt on the floor. He got up to let his pants fall to the floor. He slipped under the covers, thankful to have a friend like Zoe.

"Thanks for this, Zo. For every night I come knocking at your window. I'll still be gone before they wake," Wade whispered. Zoe smiled cuddling into him. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she enjoyed the nights Wade showed up at her window. It gave her a chance to have Wade all to herself without having to share.

"You're welcome, Wade. But you don't have to thank me, we're friends and I'm going to be here for you, always." Wade smiled kissing the top of her head as they snuggled together drifting off to sleep.

It was nothing new for the best friends to share a bed. In every aspect of the word friend, Zoe had always been there for him. They grew up together. They had first met when his mom brought him in for a check up at the age of 2, ever since they had been each other's security blanket. They had shared a lot of firsts together. At the age of 12 they shared their first kiss. They had came to the conclusion that it would be best if they shared something like that together. For the first few seconds it felt awkward, but once they stopped thinking they were kissing their best friend, things had got more intense than they would have liked at the age. They didn't do anything more than make out, but the feelings behind the kiss were something they both wanted to ignore.

Zoe had a few relationships but they never lasted longer than 6 months, they always made Zoe choose between them and Wade. She hated being forced to choose. Wade was her best friend and she wasn't going to put any guy above him. If they were going to date her, they needed to understand that Wade was her best friend and it would stay that way. Wade didn't exactly date, he'd have fun with a few girls every now and again, but he wouldn't cross a certain line. He wouldn't have sex with them. They'd do dinner and a movie or something, make-out a little but that was all.

Zoe had been there for Wade when his mom had passed away. Zoe wouldn't leave his side unless she was forced to do so. That's when he started to climb through her bedroom window. He needed the comfort. Zoe never asked questions. He would always tell her when he was ready to. He was always gone when she woke in the morning. The first few times she had thought it was a dream but soon enough she knew it was true. Wade had never said that he was going to stop climbing through her window, he couldn't do that. He needed the escape from his drunken father, but he needed the comfort he got from Zoe, more.

"Zoe, you asleep?" Wade asked staring off into the dark.

"No, why?" Zoe asked keeping her head on his chest.

"No reason, really," Wade replied.

"Wade," Zoe said turning to sit up slightly. It was hard to make his face out to see what emotions were going through his eyes. "Talk to me, please?"

"Do you ever wonder what else is out there?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"All the time, but Bluebell is home, I can't imagine living anywhere else."

"I suppose. But don't you wanna travel the states. See if somewhere else seems more like home than it does here?"

"I guess, where's all this coming from?" She was starting to get scared that he was going to leave, just like Jesse had done. She wasn't good friends with Jesse, but she saw what it had done to Wade. It had tore him apart.

"The fact I have my life wrote for me. I'm stuck here to take care of my dad. He needs someone."

"Wade, just because he needs someone doesn't mean you can't live your life. Go have that big adventure you want. See the states. Don't worry about your dad," Zoe told him seriously. She didn't want him to feel like he was stuck here because of his father.

"You'd come with right? We've talked about road trips before. After we graduate high school."

"Of course I'd come with you, I couldn't have you out there alone. But we have plenty of time to figure it out, we're only Sophomore's." She really would feel better going with Wade than staying home, to worry about him.

"Yeah, but we have to plan and save money for it. This isn't some little thing, Zo."

"I know it's not and we'll be fine and everything will work out. We'll go on this road trip after more planning is done and when we come back to Bluebell, you'll see that everything you ever need in life is right here."

"Maybe," Wade replied. "It's late, you should get some sleep."

"Everything is fine and you have nothing else to talk about?" Zoe asked sliding back down the bed.

"I'm fine, Zo," Wade told her with a yawn. Zoe let it go. She could never force Wade to talk to her. All she could do was wait for him to come to her. "Night."

"Night, Wade," Zoe replied. As many times as she had been there for him. Wade always had her back. He would drop anything and everything for her. The second she needed him, he was there. They both owed each other so much. All they could do to pay the other back was stick by the others side through everything else that was to come their way.


	2. Chapter 2

"I thought you said you were going to be gone by the time my parents woke?" Zoe asked with a chuckle getting Wade a bowl and spoon. Her parents had been up and out the door over an hour ago. Harley had headed off to work and Candice had headed to Mobile for the day.

"I guess I was a tab bit more exhausted than I had thought I was," he replied with a shrug pouring some fruit loops into a bowl. "Did I get you in trouble or something?" The last thing he wanted to do was get Zoe into trouble.

"Nah, my dad told me to have a good day and he was off for work. My mom told me if I needed anything to call 'cause she's going to be in Mobile all day," Zoe explained sitting back down at the table once she had rinsed her bowl out. "They said nothing about you being in my room." She figured at some point that conversation was going to come though. Even if they really didn't know about him sneaking in now, they would find out. Especially if he kept sleeping in.

"That's good," Wade replied stuffing a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "What are you doing on your day off from the practice?" Wade asked swallowing his bite of food.

"Having a fun-filled day with my best friend," Zoe smiled. Harley let Zoe work at the practice part-time during the summer and a few weekends during the school year. He didn't want her to spend her whole summer inside at the practice when she could be outside having fun or waste away her weekends when she could be doing other things with her friends.

"Sorry, I've got work myself. We can do something tonight though. I heard there was going to be a bonfire."

"For what?" Zoe asked. She couldn't think of a reason.

"Not sure. Kids wanna have fun. You in?" Wade asked finishing off his cereal.

"Sure, why not?" Zoe replied. "Wade, when do you work?" Zoe asked batting her eyelashes.

"Not for a few hours, why?" He asked leaning on the table.

"My car is making that funny noise again, the oil needs changed too," Zoe replied giving him a nervous smile.

"I should have let you take your damn car to the shop, instead of fixing it for you," Wade grumbled with a playful grin on his face.

"And let them take advantage and rip your best friend off," Zoe gasped. "You wouldn't dare?"

"Of course not," Wade smirked. "I'll go have a look now," Wade told her standing up. He tossed his shirt to the side not wanting to get it full of oil. Zoe bit her lip. There was no denying that he had a sexy body, but this was her best friend. She wasn't supposed to be eyeing him up like a piece of meat. For Petes sake, she had shared a bed with him for the last 6 years, more nights than not, with him. She couldn't have her feelings changing on her now. "Yo, Zo, you in there?" Wade chuckled, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Uh yeah. What's up?" Zoe asked feeling her cheeks get warm. He had clearly caught her checking him out but she wasn't going to say anything if he didn't.

"Is your dad's tool box still in the same spot in the garage?"

"Uh, it should be," Zoe told him with a shrug.

"What's with you today?" Wade asked walking outside. Zoe was relieved that Wade didn't wait around for an answer. She couldn't explain it to him. She really needed Lemon and Annabeth. She cleared away Wade's mess and sat outside on the porch, secretly checking her best friend out. She knew it was wrong to have the these thoughts about him, but she couldn't stop thinking about how amazing he would be as a boyfriend. To have his lips on hers. To be wrapped in his arms, with more feelings than that of a friend.

"Did you fix it?" Zoe asked clearing the thoughts from her head, seeing Wade approach.

"Yeah, I'm gonna order few new parts for your car, do you wanna know what parts?" Wade asked sitting next to her.

"Nope, because I wont know what they are or where they go," Zoe told him. "You know where the bathroom is for a shower, go use it," Zoe told him trying to shove him away.

"But you love me like this!" Wade smirked getting up. Zoe rolled her eyes hiding her smile.

"I really don't. You stink like grease and you have dirt in your hair. Why would I love that for?" She asked with a straight face crossing her arms over her chest.

"You still love me and you know it!" Wade stated walking into the house. "Would you admit it before I cry," Wade asked sticking his bottom lip out.

"Fine, I love you, Wade," Zoe muttered, a smile evident on her lips. Wade smirked walking the rest of the way into the house for his shower. Zoe leaned back in her chair and watched the clouds slowly dance across the blue sky.

**~4 Years Earlier~**

_"I heard that Jason Grosbeak tried to kiss you yesterday after school," Wade chuckled. Zoe groaned shaking her head. She got off her bed and shut her bedroom door. She didn't need her parents to hear this. Worse yet, she didn't need to have an awkward conversation with them about boys, yet again. Jason was the class nerd. Zoe didn't mind that, she just didn't like him that way. He had unruly black hair, he switched his glasses out for contacts but Zoe just didn't find him attractive. She was only 12, she wasn't sure what her type was, she liked guys, but just not him._

_"Don't remind me," Zoe groaned falling onto her back on her bed. Wade laid on his stomach looking down at her. Zoe looked from the ceiling to him._

_"What happened, Zo?" He asked moving a lock of brown hair from her face, his thumb grazed her cheek._

_"He wanted to talk after school about the history paper. I saw no harm in it. It was for school. I met him by his locker, we talked about the paper. Without a warning he moved his head closer to mine."_

_"And you ran?" Wade asked with a soft chuckle._

_"NO! I didn't run," Zoe told him sending an elbow to his side. "I moved away, telling him I didn't like him in that way, and I walked away. No running involved."_

_"Why didn't you wanna kiss him?" Wade asked with a softness to his voice._

_"Because I didn't!" Zoe huffed turning away from him. It wasn't any of his business on why she didn't wanna have her first kiss with a guy she didn't even like._

_"You haven't had your first kiss yet, have you?" Wade smirked. Zoe said nothing burying her face into her blanket. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Zo, I haven't had my first kiss either." Zoe quickly looked at him shocked._

_"Really?" She asked in a hushed whispered._

_"Really," he confirmed. "Maybe we should do something about that," Wade stated with a whisper. Zoe chewed on her lip thinking his powerful words over. Who better to share your first kiss with than your best friend?_

_"Ok," Zoe gulped nodding her head. Who she shared her first kiss with should be special to her. And it was, Wade was very special to her._

_"You sure?" Wade asked gently cupping her soft warm cheek. Zoe nodded gazing into his eyes anticipating what was to come next. Wade slowly lowered his head his lips inches from hers. He gently brushed his lips against hers. Zoe closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck bringing him closer. The tingling feeling that coursed through her lips mixed with a million tiny butterflies fluttering in her stomach, excited her. It also scared her but she wanted more at the same time. Feeling Wade's tongue trace along her lower lip made her stiffen for a split second before she slightly parted her lips to let his tongue duel with her own._

**~Present~**

"Penny for your thoughts?" Wade asked breaking Zoe from her thoughts. She gave him a smile feeling her cheeks slightly burn.

"You, uh, off to work?" Zoe asked ignoring his question altogether.

"Yep, you ok? You seem off this morning," Wade observed.

"I'm fine, really. See you after work for the bonfire?" Zoe asked looking up at him. Wade nodded heading off. Zoe got up with a sigh walking into the house. She walked upstairs seeing Wade's dirty clothes. She rolled her eyes and got them put into the wash. Wade had been known for leaving some extra clothes in Zoe's room. He had got tired of always bringing a bag with him when he showed up at her bedroom window.

There was a knock at the door when Zoe finished getting Wade's clothes into the wash. She shut the lid to the washer and walked to the front door. She smiled ushering Lemon and Annabeth into the house. They got some snacks and drinks and sat around the living room listening to some country music.

"You going to the bonfire tonight?" Lemon asked looking at Zoe getting a chip.

"Yeah, I'm going with Wade. You guys going?" Zoe asked looking at the cup in her hand.

"I can't go, family night," AB sighed. "Which totally bites."

"It does, sorry AB," Zoe replied casting her a small smile. "What about you Lemon?"

"Depends on George," Lemon replied with a shrug. "You and Wade still doing the whole friends thing?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Zoe asked confused. Lemon shrugged.

"Because at our age we can't have best friends that are a guy and a boyfriend. They wont admit it but they feel insignificant. Why would you need them, when you have Wade around to do everything for you?" Lemon asked making Zoe sigh. It wasn't like that. Was it? No, Wade was her best friend and she couldn't replace him. Wade meant way to much to her, to toss him to the side.

"It's not like that, though. Sure now I ask Wade to do things for me but I'm single. I can balance being friends with Wade and having a boyfriend too," Zoe stated. She wanted to tell her friends about the recent feelings she'd been having about Wade, but maybe that wasn't the best choice at the moment. "Excuse me for a second," Zoe told her friends getting up when she heard the washer stop. She quickly tossed Wade's clothes into the dryer with a dryer sheet. After cleaning the lint trap out she started the dryer.

"You do know that Wade will be looking for someone to hook up with tonight, right?" AB asked. She felt like someone needed to come out and say it.

"I know," Zoe replied sitting back down. She wrapped her arms around her legs. "I know, Lemon," Zoe stated looking at her friend.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Lemon stated a tad offended. Zoe playfully rolled her eyes.

"You were going to say that I should look for a guy to date. It's been over 6 months since you were with anyone," Zoe mocked Lemon, getting her to gasp.

"Ok, maybe I was thinking something like that," Lemon huffed in a playfully tone. "It's true. There has to be some one you want to date." Zoe shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't really looked at any of the guys around town or at school as possible boyfriends. She was fine with being single. In the back of her head she knew that if she ever needed a date to something, she had Wade to go with. But maybe it was time to stop using him as her personal crutch. She'd see what happened tonight. Go with the flow of things.


	3. Chapter 3

"You need to be home by 11," Harley told his daughter.

"But, Dad!" Zoe protested, jumping up from her spot on the couch. It wasn't fair that she had to go change. She didn't think there was anything wrong with the outfit she was wearing.

"But, nothing young lady!" Harley told her in a stern voice. "Go upstairs and change out of that outfit." Zoe looked down at her purple tank top and her black mini skirt.

"Mom said this outfit was ok, when I saw her for a brief second this afternoon," Zoe protested yet again crossing her arms over chest.

"Either you change or you stay home," Harley told her sternly. Zoe huffed going up to her room to change into some blue jeans. She dug through her closet finding a low-cut black long sleeve shirt. Getting her white wedges put on she went downstairs. "Much better sweetheart," Harley responded seeing his daughter. Zoe smiled slightly.

"Where's mom?" Zoe asked. She hadn't seen her since the afternoon before she rushed out the door once more.

"Her business meeting is going later than planned," Harley responded. "Zoe, can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure, what's going on Dad?" Zoe asked sitting down on the couch.

"You know what, have fun tonight." Zoe tilted her head to the side. She was clearly missing something, but she wasn't going to question it. If he was going to get after her, he wouldn't have ignored it the way he was. She did want to know, though. And that was outweighing the not knowing part. She went to speak but the door chiming informed her they had company. Zoe got up walking to the door. She smiled seeing Wade.

"You ready?" He asked staying outside.

"One second," Zoe told him leaving the door open. "Dad, I'm going, now."

"Alright, have fun, home by 11," he reminded her. Zoe rolled her eyes and went back to the door.

"That sucks you don't get to spend more time there," Wade commented getting into his beat up pick up.

"You're my ride for the night, so you can't either," Zoe told him sticking her tongue out at him.

"Haven't I told you before, the next time you stick your damn tongue out at me, I was going to bite it?" Wade asked raising an eyebrow.

"Eeww, don't you dare!" Zoe exclaimed putting her hands over her mouth.

"It wouldn't be the first time your tongue has been in my mouth," Wade chuckled.

"No, it would be the second time," Zoe stated turning to look at him.

"You weren't grossed out then. You were memorized by it," Wade joked making Zoe's cheeks slightly start to tint a light pink color.

"Shut up!" Zoe pouted turning to look out the window.

"Hey, now, Zo," Wade said glancing at her. The night they shared the experience of their first kiss with each other, he wanted to date her, but he was broken and he wasn't ready for a commitment like that. He still wasn't ready for that. He didn't date, it was best that way. There wasn't a possibility that Zoe liked him that way, so he forgot about his feelings for her and focused on their friendship. He was waiting for the day Zoe would toss him to the side for a boyfriend. He was grateful she hadn't done that yet. "You wont ditch me when you find a boyfriend will ya?" He asked barely above a whisper. Everyone that had cared for him, left him in some way. He wouldn't be able to manage, if Zoe did that as well.

"Where'd that come from?" Zoe asked looking at him.

"It's always been there, Zo. They all tell you at some point it's them or me. So far I've been lucky that you've picked me, but Zo one of these times you're gonna be in love with them and you'll be forced to pick him over me."

"Wade, if they make me pick them or you, then they aren't worth being with or deserving of my love, now are they?" Zoe asked dead serious about it all.

"I don't expect you to choose me over them every time, Zo," Wade responded pulling the pick up to a stop along side of the road. "Don't you have the doubt that I'll do the same, pick a chick over you?

"I know you wouldn't, or am I wrong?" Zoe asked casting her gaze to her lap.

"You're right. Having a girlfriend isn't my top priorities right now. I can't love anyone more than I love you, Zo. It's impossible," he whispered with a gulp. Zoe could have taken that a few different ways, and she wanted too, but there was no way he could be in love with her. It just wasn't possible.

"Wade, I love you too," she told him placing her hand on his arm. "Between school, work and making time for my best friend, I just don't have the time for a boyfriend and I'm ok with that. All I need is you," Zoe told him with sincerity in each word.

"Why don't we screw the bonfire and head into Fairhope. We can get a bite to eat, watch a movie or something," Wade suggested. "Two friends hanging out, having fun."

"That does sound a lot better than some stupid bonfire that's gonna get broke up by officer Bill, before 10."

"Just no cheesy chick flick," Wade threatened, turning the pick up around.

"No scary movie, either," Zoe fired back.

"Why not? I'll be there to protect you."

"And I'll have nightmares for a month, no thank you," Zoe stated shaking her head.

"And I'll still be there to protect you, Zo."

"Wade, I don't expect you to climb through my window every night till the nightmares end," she told him softly. At some point him crawling through her window was going to stop and she couldn't do anything about that.

"We both know, I'll be there regardless, Zo," he responded. "Summer is coming up in a few months." Zoe smiled at him subtly changing the topic of conversation. "What do you have planned?"

"Work, hanging out with Lemon and AB, and maybe if I have the time, hang out my best friend in the world. You?"

"I was thinking we could do a mini road trip to Florida or something. Ya know do a mini test run before the big road trip after high school. Think you could swing that with your parents?" Zoe sighed playing with a lock of her hair.

"I don't know," she responded. "I can try, but it's hard to know what they'll say about that. I wanna give them the benefit of the doubt here, but honestly I think it's a long shot." Zoe took a deep breath seeing Wade's face fall. "I've got a few months to work them over, right? I wont give up, not until they cave in." Wade chuckled. It was the little things that made him grateful to have Zoe as his best friend.

"X-men or 22 Jump Street?" Zoe asked. That's the choice if we don't wanna wait an hour. I personally say Transformers, 'cause I have to be home by 11."

"And we did just have a little marathon of Transformers," Wade added in. "We can't have you getting into trouble. We can get burgers for the ride back."

"Sounds like we have the perfect night planned, buddy," Zoe smirked. They headed inside the theater. Wade paid for the tickets, the popcorn, the drinks and some candy. Zoe never had the chance to begin to protest.

After the movie was over with they went through a drive through and got tacos instead of burgers. No one had a chance to talk since they both were starving. The popcorn and candy just didn't do it for them.

"Will you leave your window open?" Wade asked seeing that Harley was still up.

"Of course. Tonight was fun," Zoe told him kissing his cheek. Wade nodded as a response. Zoe jumped out of his pick up and headed inside.

"Did you have fun?" Harley asked turning the TV off. Zoe nodded.

"We went to Fairhope and caught a movie, instead," Zoe told her dad.

"That's nice sweetie."

"Night, dad," Zoe commented going upstairs hearing her dad say goodnight. Zoe quickly changed for bed opening the window enough, Wade could easily open the window himself. She turned the lights off and crawled into bed. She sighed into the dark. She had to find away to ask permission to go on a road trip with Wade, and she had to find away to keep her feelings for Wade hid. That thought hurt. She laid on her side letting a sniffle escape.

"What's wrong, Zo?" Wade asked slipping into bed with her. Zoe mentally jumped not hearing Wade enter her room. She shook her head.

"Nothing," she whispered. "Just tired," she gave him as an excuse. He didn't believe it but he wasn't going to pry or push her to open up to him. Instead he settled in behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Just because he didn't know what was wrong didn't mean he couldn't hold her and give her the comfort she needed.


	4. Chapter 4

"And where do you think you're going young lady?" Zoe froze hearing her mom.

"Out," she called spinning around. "There's this pool party at Emily's house. Everyone's invited," Zoe explained.

"Alright but be home by 4. We have dinner with the Wilkes clan."

"Ok," Zoe replied running out of the house. Emily's house was only a few blocks from her own. All her friends should already be there.

What she wasn't expecting was to see Wade surrounded by half the class. He sent her a smile, something that had went unnoticed by the group of girls around him. Zoe ventured over to the table grabbing a can of soda.

"Zoe, this is my cousin, Jeff," Zoe smiled. In a sense he looked like George but then he really didn't. He had brown hair that went to the middle of his neck. Piercing green eyes. Was he ever built? He knew his way around the gym. "Jeff, this is my friend, Zoe," George announced walking off.

"I feel like this was a set up," Zoe smiled, looking down bashful.

"I think it was, but I'm ok with it. I get to have the company of a beautiful woman." Zoe could feel the heat raise up to her cheeks. "Shall we sit?" He asked motioning towards the empty pool chairs.

"Sure," Zoe smiled. "Where you from?" Zoe asked looking over at him.

"Atlanta," he answered back with a cool tone. "But I'm moving here."

"Are you a trouble maker? Did you rob a bank?" Zoe joked.

"No," he laughed. "My Mom wants to move back. You and George close?"

"Not really. We hang out in a group and all but on very rare occasions are we ever just hanging out alone." It was hard when all her time was spent with Wade. "What about you and George?"

"As close as can be growing up in different states. But family get together's had us on the same team. So it's going to be different now, ya know?" He asked looking at Zoe.

"I guess, I wouldn't really know. I've never moved from Bluebell," Zoe told him. She shifted her gaze from Jeff to Wade. He was now talking to George and Meatball. A devilish grin on his face. She knew he was up to something.

"Hey, Zo," Wade called waving her over. He didn't like the fact that she was being friendly with Jeff. He had heard the stories about Jeff, just last Summer. The guy was no good. He used every girl he could. He got what he wanted from them and dumped them the next day. It was gross and he didn't want Zoe to get hurt.

"Friend of yours?" Jeff asked.

"Best friend," Zoe smiled getting up. "I should get over there before he comes and tosses me over his shoulder," she told him getting up.

"Well in that case, it was nice meeting you, Zoe."

"You too," Zoe replied with a smile walking over to Wade. By the time she got there, he was alone. "Whatcha need?" Zoe asked placing her hands on her hips.

"To share this moment with my best friend," Wade smirked pointing over to where the rest of their friends stood laughing. She watched as Meatball slung his arm around Lemon's shoulders. She went to brush him off but he caught her in time to kiss her. Lemon tried to push him off. Zoe burst out in laughter seeing Lemon's arms flying in every direction.

"Wait," Zoe said between breaths. "I thought she was dating, George? Is he ok with this?" Zoe asked, her laughter subsiding, turning to look at Wade.

"She broke up with him, something about them moving too fast."

"Is this a scheme for him to win her back?" Zoe questioned.

"I have no idea, Zoe," Wade told her. "So what were you doing with Jeff?" Wade asked. She swore their was jealousy behind his words but that couldn't be possible so she let the thought float away.

"Talking, George introduced us. I'm sure Lemon and AB had something to do with it," Zoe explained. She noticed that Lemon had stormed inside the house. "I should check on her."

"You can always come play in the pool instead," Wade suggested with a smirk. She did have a bikini on, with shorts.

"I can't. I'm not able to stay much longer. Wilkes family Barbeque."

"Where the fun, never ends," Wade replied with a sarcastic tone. Zoe giggled giving him a push.

"You never had to come the 3 times you did. I wasn't twisting your arm. I believe you insisted on coming along," Zoe smirked.

"I wanted to know the fuss, the first time around. And the other two, I didn't have a choice, your Dad practically forced me to go along with you guys."

"Zoe," AB called across the yard.

"You're being summoned," Wade told her. Zoe rolled her eyes walking off. Wade smirked and jumped into the pool doing a cannonball, splashing Zoe.

"You're dead, Kinsella," Zoe called out walking into the house. "You ok, Lemon?" Zoe asked sitting down.

"I'll be ok. What was he thinking? I know George was apart of this," Lemon huffed.

"He was thinking he wanted his girl back. The girl who humiliated him. Boys aren't always the smartest, Lemon. Why did you break-up with him?" Zoe asked.

"It was easier than telling him the truth." Zoe frowned sharing a look with AB.

"What do you mean?" AB asked.

"I'm scared of what's going to happen between us. I like things being slow, I don't want to rush into something we're not ready for." It was starting to make sense now.

"You need to talk to George. And Lemon, you can't always break up with George when things aren't going the way you think or want them to go." She glanced at the clock seeing she still had a few hours before she had to leave.

"So, do you and Jeff hit it off?" Lemon asked skipping past her problem's with George.

"Maybe in a friend kinda way," Zoe replied getting up. "I gotta get home and get ready for the Wilkes." She looked outside to see that Wade was once again swarmed by the girls in their grade. She had half a mind to go out there and shove them way. They knew he was hers. She sighed to herself. He really wasn't, not like that anyway. Zoe walked off ignoring the questions her friends were asking. She couldn't be jealous. Not over Wade. They were friends. She never had a problem with him being with other girls before. She's had boyfriends before and their was no jealousy. She was imaging things. Had to be.

"You're home early," Candice said looking up from the paper work that was scattered on the kitchen table.

"Figured I'd come home and get ready, is Dad home, yet?" Zoe asked.

"In his office," Candice replied going back to work. Zoe walked down the hall seeing that his office door was open. "Hey, Dad. You busy?" Zoe asked.

"Never busy for you, sweetie, what's on your mind?" He asked. Zoe sighed softly sitting in the extra chair.

"The other night, you wanted to say something, but didn't. What was that about?"

"It seems silly, but both you and Wade have grown up over the years in more than one way. Feelings develop no matter what. Zoe, people fall in love with their best friend." Could she really be one of them? Was she falling in love with Wade? She couldn't be. That was just pure craziness. "I can't stop you from doing anything, just be smart."

"I will," Zoe replied pushing herself up.

"Oh and Zoe, if Wade is going to stay over from now on. I would appreciate it that he either sleep on the floor or in the spare room that we turned into a room for him when he was 10."

"Ok," Zoe replied quickly getting out of dodge. She had forgotten about the room they let him have, when he kept staying over, not wanting to faces his drunken father at such a young age. Earl would call daily to check on Wade. But he would always find away to sneak into her bed. She would comfort him when he started to cry for his mom.

Zoe hadn't really paid much attention to what Vivian and the rest of them told her. She nodded her head to make it seem like she was paying attention, but she wasn't. Her mind was focused on the idea of falling in love with her best friend. Wade was her best friend, she loved him a lot, but it wasn't in a romantic way. She didn't think it was.

He was good-looking and she enjoyed the time they spent together. She really did love their first kiss back when she was 12, maybe she was making more out of this situation then need be. She wasn't jealous of Wade. She could find a guy to date and be happy with them.

She had joined in the many games that had been played. She hadn't won anything, but it had taken her mind off of Wade.

When they pulled up to the house Zoe was more than happy to go to bed. What she wasn't expecting was Wade to be sitting on her bed.

"What are you doing here?" Zoe asked quickly shutting the door behind her.

"I'm here every night," He pointed. Zoe rolled her eyes getting her pj's for the night. She walked into her bathroom, quickly changing for bed. "Plus you never found me before you left the party."

"You had a swarm of girls around you, it was kinda hard to do so," Zoe told him stepping outta the bathroom. "Also you are suppose to sleep on the floor or in the room they turned into yours," Zoe told him shutting the light off. She crawled into bed, Wade joining her.

"What they don't know wont hurt them," he smirked. In that respect, Zoe agreed with him. She told him, it wasn't if he would listen to her. "Why let me sleep in your bed for the past how many years?" Zoe shrugged her shoulders, yawning. She didn't want Wade to move from her bed anyway. It wasn't like they were going to be doing anything other than sleep any how. Silence soon followed, as they drifted off to sleep, in each others arms.


	5. Chapter 5

_**So this was suppose to be the last chapter, but I forgot I was going to do Wade's point of view until I had finished it. So without further ado, the chapter you've been waiting for.**_

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><p>Wade walked into his house to see his dad passed out on the couch. He picked up the empty bottles and managed to help his dad to bed. He shook his head and walked out of the house. He really couldn't handle all of this. The worst part, it wasn't even night time yet.<p>

"What's up?" Zoe asked, seeing him enter the practice.

"The sky," he retorted with a smirk. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Bad again?" She asked sensing that something was wrong with her best friend.

"Is it ever good?" He asked slumping in the chair. Zoe shrugged sitting next to him.

"We've had some good times, haven't we?" She asked, sitting next to him.

"We have," he assured her. "You seem busy," he said looking around seeing how busy the place looked.

"Kind of, but I've always got time for you."

"You work, I'll see you later." He didn't wait for her to answer, he took off leaving her not able to come after him.

Wade walked through the not so busy streets headed nowhere; somewhere with a purpose, so it seemed. He finally came across a spot at the river. He sat on the bank. How he wished he could jump in and let the water carry him away. He was sure if it wasn't for Zoe he would have already split. He was sick and tired of taking care of his drunk father.

Couldn't anything go his way? He lost his mother, in a sense he lost his brother and his father. He was alone. The only person that loved him was Zoe. He loved her too, but it wasn't the same. Ever since they shared their first kiss, he was under her spell. He kissed plenty of girls, but they weren't the same as the one kiss he shared with Zoe. He had a feeling he could search the whole planet and never find anyone more perfect than Zoe. He was kidding himself, if ever thought that Zoe would feel the same about him. It was easier to hide his feelings then put them out there and get burned.

He would make do with sharing her bed until she left for college. He knew there was no way she would ever kick him out of her bed. He trusted her with his life. He had to believe that she would never kick him out because she found a guy. That wasn't who Zoe was. Every way he could be close to her, he'd take that over losing her. After their first kiss, she had never brought the subject up, so he figured that she just didn't feel what he had. He had hinted at things being different between them but she was quick to dismiss the thoughts. They were destined to be friends. And as much as that sucked he had to be ok with it.

"I can see why you come here," Zoe said breaking his current train of thought. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was. She was the only person that knew he came to the river. He only ever shared it with her.

"I was thinking," he replied tossing a rock into the river.

"I hope you can talk and eat," she smiled sitting next to him. He took the bag from her and pulled his burger out.

"Just stuff," he replied with a mouthful of burger.

"Stuff, seems to be on your mind lately. Mind telling me what this stuff is? It's gotta be important." Wade sighed putting his burger down.

"How can you tell if a girl likes you?" He asked completely ignoring her question in a sense. He had to find away for Zoe to at least hint at liking someone. She had to like a guy. He wanted it to be him. He wanted her to say she liked him and that she wanted more.

"Wade, that's silly. You of all people should know when a girl likes you," she told him with a soft giggle. He sighed looking down. That wasn't the answer he was going for. He hadn't expected her to laugh at him.

"No, they like me because all they wanna do is fool around. I mean how can you tell if a girl is really into you and wants to be more than friends or just a hook up?" He asked adding more to it this time. For a second he thought he had seen a frown on Zoe's face.

"You have your eye on someone?" She asked softly, her gaze fixed on the water that trickled by.

"You could say that," Wade responded. "I just wanna know if she likes me the same way I like her." He was gripping at thin air here. He had never tried this hard to figure out her feelings for him before. He was starting to think that it was a waste of time. "Ya know what? Forget it," he told her. "Fry?" He asked handing a fry over.

"Why don't you tell me who has your head such a mess and I'll tell you how she feels about you," Zoe tried, taking the fry from him.

"That's ok," he replied. He so badly wanted to tell her it was her that made his head a mess, it was her that made his heart sporadic, made his breathing irregular. It was her that had his heart. "I'll figure it out."

"If you're sure," Zoe told him getting to her feet.

"I'm sure, Zoe," he assured her.

"Ok, I gotta get back. Window?" Zoe asked walking backwards.

"Yep," he smiled. "It's you Zoe, always has been," he said once he could no longer see her. It was that simple to say but he didn't have enough courage to do so. He was a man, he was suppose to be able to tell the girl he likes about liking her.

Having enough sun he headed home. He wasn't surprised to see his dad was still laid out cold. He pulled the fridge open. Nothing but beer, rum, scotch and vodka filled the empty shelf's that lined the fridge. He pulled out a half empty bottle of the Scotch and downed it, letting the bitter liquid burn his throat. He tossed the empty bottle aside and grabbed a bottle of beer and downed that in one go. The liquid did nothing to ease the pain he felt. It tasted like crap. He couldn't understand what his dad saw in the stuff. It did nothing to help mask the pain or sorrow he felt.

A slam of the door indicated he was out of there for the night. He made a quick escape to Zoe's house. Getting up the tree was rather easy. It was keeping his balance on the limb that was rather tricky. He pulled Zoe's window open and fell into her room.

"Wade?" Zoe asked rushing into the room.

"Hey, Zo," he smirked from the floor.

"Are you drunk?" She asked helping him off the floor.

"Could be," he shrugged falling onto her bed.

"It's good thing my parents are gone for the night," Zoe replied taking his shoes off.

"We should party," he suggested sitting up. Zoe pushed him back on the bed.

"I think you're partied out," Zoe told him.

"You're right," he sighed looking up at the ceiling that seemed to be spinning. "Ya know earlier, that girl who has my head a mess?" He asked seeing Zoe slightly nodded at his question. "It's you," he told her, finding a black mass envelop him.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Guys this story isn't over with quite yet. I have more in mind for them. I meant that Wade's POV was so suppose to be up a chapter before I posted it. Sorry, my bad. :/ This chapter has both Wade and Zoe's POV's.**_

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><p>Zoe sat in her desk chair, not able to sleep. She tried to curl up to Wade. But he reeked of alcohol and it made her sick. Between that and the words that spilled from his lips were on repeat in her head. They flashed before her like a bright neon sign every time she closed her eyes. She hated it. He admit his feelings for her, but he was drunk. There was a good chance he wouldn't remember it come morning. And that hurt. To know he felt the same way she did; yet she couldn't confront him about it.<p>

She hadn't remembered moving to the bed, let alone drifting off to sleep. She woke up tucked snuggly under her blanket. She was alone. She sighed softly. Her brow furrowed smelling the bacon, pancakes and eggs that seeped into her room.

Wade woke with a pounding in his head. He rolled to his feet, he had noticed the absents in the bed. He looked around the room spotting Zoe passed out in her desk chair. He couldn't figure out why she would be sleeping there for. He gave himself a bigger headache trying to figure out if he had said anything.

He made his way to the bathroom to get some aspirin. On his way back through he moved Zoe from the chair and placed her in bed tucking her in. He gently kissed her forehead. He went and had a shower to waken himself up a bit more. For the life of him he couldn't remember climbing through Zoe's window.

Walking downstairs with only jeans on he took to the kitchen to find something to make. He was starving. The last time he remembered eating was yesterday afternoon when Zoe brought him some food.

Zoe walked downstairs with her hair a tangled mess on her head. She thought about taking a shower but her hunger had won out in the end.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Wade smirked placing a plate of food in front of her at the counter. Zoe grumbled something under her breath that caused Wade to look at her. Her neck was sore and stiff from sleeping in the chair. "What's with you?" Wade asked feeling slightly better than he had when he first woke up.

"Nothing," Zoe sighed taking a bite of food. "You remember anything from last night?" Zoe asked, swallowing what was in her mouth.

"No, why? I say something I shouldn't have?" He asked with a cringe. That answered her question on if he would remember bearing his soul to her.

"No," Zoe sighed.

"It had to be something if you're like that," he pointed out flipping the last pancake. "Out with it!" He demanded sitting next to her at the counter.

"You fell through the window last night, wanted to party 'cause my parents are gone," Zoe shrugged. "I got you into bed and watched over your drunken butt all night." She purposely skipped over the part where he had admitted to liking her. She wasn't ready to open that can of worms.

"Sounds like me," he shrugged. "Makes sense on why you weren't in the bed with me when I woke." She was going to let him think that was the only reason and that it wasn't anything to do with feelings he had for her. Or was it her feelings for him she was afraid of?

"Why were you drinking?" Zoe asked taking another bite of food.

"Just felt like it," he sufficed as his excuse. "Everything felt like it was crushing me. I just wanted to forget for one night. It wasn't as if I drank that much," he explained further.

"You know you could have come to me and told me what was going on. You don't have to turn to alcohol," she was almost yelling at him. She hated when he acted like such a fool about things. Especially when she never turned him away.

"I know," he sighed laying his head on the counter, the pounding in his head coming back ten times worse. "I wanted to be stupid, ok?" He huffed.

"Ok," Zoe replied storming upstairs for a shower.

When she came down Wade was gone and the mess of dirty dishes had been done. Bluebell was small and she could easily find him, though she was pissed at him still and seeing his smug face would only drive her mad.

"What's with you?" George asked.

"Wade freaking Kinsella!" She seethed through clenched teeth.

"What he do now?" George asked flinging his arm over her shoulder in a friend kinda way. He grew up with them, he knew how often they butted heads because they were both too damn stubborn for their own good.

"What doesn't he do?" Zoe bit back.

"True, but is it really that bad? You're only gonna be by his side tonight when he sneaks into your room anyhow," he smirked. Zoe stuck her tongue out at him.

"I guess he isn't being very sneaky, if everyone in town knows," she retorted.

"I guess not," he chukled lightly. Zoe rolled her eyes. It had been a secret for the first year and a half or so.

Wade had stormed out of Zoe's house. He had a feeling he had said something to Zoe, he just wasn't sure what that was. Making a fool of himself was nothing new when it came to Zoe. He wasn't worried about that. He needed to piece together what had happened between falling through her window and passing out. Whatever it was, it was tearing them apart.

"Hey, Wade," Lexi said batting her leashes at him

"Hey, Lex. What can I do you for?" He asked looking past her to see that Zoe and George seemed to be getting cozy. He hadn't heard about Lemon and George getting back together. Screw guy code, he huffed turning back to the green-eyed, blonde hair hottie before him.

"I was wondering if ya could come to the movies with me tonight?" She asked twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"7?" Wade asked with a smirk.

"I'll be waiting," she giggled walking off.

Wade and Zoe spent the day away from each other. Wade picked up a few extra shifts and Zoe spent the day hid in her room. Her parents called saying they wouldn't be back until late. She ignored her friends when they called and when they showed up at her front door. She ate and called it a night. After the events of earlier and hearing about him having a date, she wasn't sure if he would show up or not. She still left the window ajar for him.

Wade had thought he could get through the date no problem. But the whole time he had been thinking and wishing that it was Zoe beside him. He made no move to kiss Lexi. There was no sense to lead her on. They parted on friendly terms.

He had been surprised that she left the window open for him. It took him 20 minutes in the tree to decide whether or not he was going to leap through it.

Zoe laid awake staring off into the dark. She held her breath hearing the window creak open. She didn't want him to not show up. With him showing up like this meant that their problem could be easily fixed.

"Have fun with Lexi?" Zoe snapped softly.

"Have fun with Tucker?" He snapped back crawling into the bed. Zoe turned to look at him, laughter on her lips.

"He's trying to get back with Lemon. He wanted to know what was going on with us because I was pissed off when he saw me."

"If it makes you feel better, the date with Lexi was a dud."

"I should be mad that you confessed your feelings for me last night drunk then you went on a date with Lexi." The words were out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying.

"What?" Wade shouted. "Tell me I didn't." He pleaded.

"That would be lying, Wade. You did that," she told him. She wouldn't be mad if he left. She was expecting that.

"Then what?" He asked afraid to know the answer.

"You passed out," Zoe told him. "Don't you remember?" She asked softly. He pulled her into him. Knowing the truth about last night it was starting to come back, it did help that his head wasn't hurting.

"Yeah, now I do," he replied with a sigh. "If this changes anything," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For?" Zoe asked.

"Making things awkward," he told her.

"You didn't, you were drunk, Wade. I'm sure you meant it and I'm flattered, but it would be nice if you told me how you felt sober," she whispered, flinging an arm around him.

"I do like you, Zo, maybe even love. Always have," he whispered kissing her temple. She looked up at him ready to spill her feelings for him, she locked her eyes on his in the dark. White's of his eye stuck out.

"Wade,"


	7. Chapter 7

"I know, Zoe. You could never feel the same way about me. I've been dealing with this for a long time," he sighed getting up. "I'm stupid. Admitting my feelings for you. I didn't want our friendship to end, but here I am admitting things that are better left unsaid." Zoe watched as he paced around her room. He hadn't done anything he was accusing himself of doing.

"Wade," she said to gain his attention. Was hitting him an option? Nah!

"I'm a screw up. There's no way you could like me. I'm just your screwed up best friend."

"Wade Kinsella," she hissed getting up to stand in front of him. She placed her hands on his upper arms. "You're not a screw up. You're not my screwed up best friend. It is possible that I like you, Wade." He scoffed at that, moving away from her.

"Don't humor me, Zoe."

"I wasn't," she replied softly.

"I think we need some space." Space? She gave him a funny look. The last thing she wanted to do was put space between them. She wanted to tell him that he was more than a friend. That she wanted to be more than his friend. They didn't need space, they needed to be closer. "I'm gonna spend the night in the room your folks made mine."

"Wade, wait," she begged. He shook his head and walked out the door shutting it behind him. He let a long hollow sigh out resting against the wall by her door. "Funny, Wade. You have this huge idea on my feelings are. Yet you ain't even close," she chuckled sinking to her knees. "You're wrong, I've fallen for you. Why do you think I don't want a boyfriend? Because they're not you." Her laughter turned into sobs. Wade wanted to burst through the door and wrap her up in a hug and kiss every single tear away, but he couldn't do that. His feet took him down the hall.

Zoe had cried herself to sleep. Wade couldn't will sleep to over take his body. His mind on the girl crying her eyes out down the hall.

Zoe slide into her chair piling food on her plate. She wasn't very hungry, she knew she had to eat.

"Where's Wade?" Zoe asked sipping on some orange juice. She had made sure to walk past his room on the way down this morning. The door was open and his bed had even been made. She was hoping that he hadn't left before she woke up. Now it seemed that he had.

"He was here?" Her mom asked. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"I know you guys know that he's been sneaking in since he lost his Mom. Dad even made it clear, you guys knew." She pushed the food on her plate around. She hated that she was on the outs with him, when she hadn't even done anything. She tried to tell him how she felt, he just wouldn't stop long enough for her to tell him her true feelings.

"My guess is, he already left, sweetie. You guys ok?" Harley asked. Zoe gave her father a small smile nodding her head. That was her fear come true. That he had walked away. Zoe got up taking care of her plate.

"If you need anything, I'll be in my room."

"Ok, sweetie," Harley replied. Zoe raced up the stairs going to her room. She sat in her desk chair staring at the window, willing Wade to come back to her.

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><p><strong>~6 years ago~<strong>

_A ten-year old Zoe sat on her bed, her eyes red and puffy. She hugged her body to her chest. She jumped hearing her window being pushed open._

_"Zo?" Wade asked through the dark. His voice was raw from all the crying and screaming he had done that day._

_"Wade?" Zoe questioned, turning her bedside lamp on. "What are you doing?" She asked. Wade sat next to her. Zoe quickly flung her arms around him._

_"Home feels so black. Jesse's locked himself in his room, Dad's drinking bottle after bottle. I was alone and scared. I don't want to be scared and I can't be alone."_

_"Oh, Wade," Zoe whispered. "You're not alone. Never. I'll always be here for you." He felt safe, even if it only lasted the night._

_"Thanks, Zo," he whispered shutting his eyes to keep the tears locked away._

_"It's ok if you cry, Wade. You just buried your Mom. That's hard for any adult. You're just a kid, it's gotta be hard. It's hard for me. Your Mom was like a second Mom to me. I wont judge you for crying." That had made him chuckle a little, her little rant._

_"I'm sick of crying, Zoe," he sighed, laying down on the bed. Zoe turned her light off, laying next to him. He cuddled into Zoe._

_"Let's play a game," Zoe told him softly. "Favorite flavor of ice cream?" He furrowed his brow._

_"Double chocolate," he answered. "You know that."_

_"I know just answer the questions. Favorite food?" She asked getting his mind to focus on other things in life._

_"Burgers and fries," he replied playing along._

_"Favorite sport?"_

_"Football."_

_"Your dream?"_

_"Playing in the NFL."_

_"Best friend?"_

_"You," he replied._

_"Color?"_

_"Green."_

_"A house by the beach or in the mountains?"_

_"Beach."_

_"Summer or winter?"_

_"Autumn."_

_"Why?"_

_"Don't laugh!" He warned. "Because things are changing and with all the colors, it's pretty." He shrugged against her. Zoe smiled, she had rarely seen this side of him. When she did they were always alone. She found it sweet that he was secure enough at the tender age of 10 to show that he could be sensitive._

_"Home?" Wade shut his eyes trying to figure out what she was getting at with a question like that._

_"Where ever I feel safe, I guess," he sighed._

_"Home is where the heart is, Wade," Zoe whispered._

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><p>Wade walked along the streets in the early morning sun. Everything was so peaceful and calm. He felt a sense of relief wash over him. She had fallen for him and he left. He could do the whole best friend thing. That was easy. Unless she was going through a break up, then he wanted to punch the guys lights out and keep Zoe close for himself. But yet, here he was walking away from her. He kept telling himself that he would only screw it up, that Zoe deserved someone other than him. She had a heart of gold and his heart was ice-cold.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Zoe flopped down on the couch with a huff. Her parents gave her funny looks. She had the worst day of her life. Her friends bugged her about Wade. They had to know what was going on. She didn't say a word. She hadn't said anything all day. Every time she went to talk to Wade he looked at her with sad eyes and left in a hurry. She grew frustrated with him.

"What's wrong?" Harley asked.

"Stupid, Wade Kinsella," she huffed. She refused to look at her parents.

"What did he do?" Candice asked. Zoe leaned forward, resting her head in her hands.

"It's nothing," she mumbled.

"I think, I know the problem here." Zoe's head snapped up hearing her mom's words. "You like him and he only likes you as a friend. I saw him that Lexi girl just the other day."

"He was with her because he thought something was going on between George and myself," she sighed. "That wasn't the case, not at all."

"Then what, sweetie?" Harley asked, concerned for his daughter.

"I like him and he likes me the same. He just won't listen to me. He ignores me. He won't talk to me. What do I do?" She asked on the verge of tears. "I can't lose him as a friend."

"Oh honey," Candice said, moving next to her daughter.

"Wade needs time, you have to give him some space. I know it's going to be hard, but you need to do that. This isn't going to ruin your friendship with him," Candice consoled her daughter.

"Your mom is right. He loves you far too much to let something like this ruin what you guys have going on." She wasn't sure about that. Wade could be pretty destructive about things.

"I don't know if I can set back and watch him throw our friendship away. That'll hurt too much," she told her parents going to her room. If he wasn't going to confront her, she was going to seek him out. He wasn't coming to her room at night. He wasn't coming to her house at all. She had a feeling she knew where he was hiding out at. She would wait until nightfall and go to him. She would make him listen to every word she had to say. By the time she was done, they could be happy together.

Wade wandered through town. He stopped at the house that was more like his home, then his. He was pushing Zoe away, it hurt, but at the end of the day, he was doing what was right. She deserved the world and he all he could give her was Bluebell. He would only ever end up hurting her in the long run. He couldn't stand to see her hurt, he wouldn't be the one to hurt her. Not ever again.

This was hard on him, crushed him to know he didn't have a happily ever after with Zoe. That all they could ever be were friends. To have her close and not be able to do anything. Not to cross the line they were both having a hard time to staying on. He was single handly hurting her, making himself regret ever falling for her. That his life would be less complicated if he hadn't been friends with Zoe. That he could be happy with someone else, because his feeling for Zoe, wouldn't be there, in the way. Maybe the best thing for him to do, was to cut Zoe, out of his life altogether.

He angrily wiped the tears that threatened to fall away. The thoughts alone broke his heart. How could he survive without her there? He'd figure it out. He had to. This wasn't the life for her. She wanted to change the world and he just wanted to get through each and every single day. That alone told him they would never work out. He loved her enough to let her go. No more talks of trips, no more sneaking into her window, when he needed her.

NO! He was using Zoe as a crutch and he couldn't do that. He had to face his problems on his own. It was time he started to act like a man. It was time to cut the strings. This needed to be the way it is. He needed to experience things in life without Zoe right there next to him, holding his hand because he's too scared to do it alone.

The last time he let himself cry was the day he buried his mom. Zoe was there to keep his mind off of it long enough to fall asleep. She had always been there for him, he had always been there for her. Saying goodbye, wasn't going to be easy. It was the second most hardest thing he has ever done in his life. He wasn't ready for it, he just knew it was time. He fell to his knee, burying his head in his hands and let the tears pour from his eyes.

Zoe waited until dusk, when her parents went to bed. She closed and locked her door. They had already told her night, they wouldn't check up on her in the night. She wouldn't see them until morning, by then, things with Wade would be fixed.

She couldn't figure out what it was she wanted to say to him. Her mind drew a blank every time she wanted to figure it out. She wondered how he was doing. Why he was tormenting himself. Why he would cause so much pain for both of them. She couldn't make heads or tails of it. She knew his flaws inside and out, that's what made him, well him. She didn't want a perfect guy because she wasn't perfect. She loved that he had flaws.

Walking to the clearing where he was at, Zoe's heart beat grew faster and louder. Hearing the muffled sobs coming from the broken boy, made her heart break more. It made her wanna cry. She knelt next to him, placing a hand on his back.

He stiffened feeling the hand on his back. The sweet smell of lilac and vanilla calmed him down.

"Wade," her tone was soft and gentle. "We can do this."

"We can't, Zoe," he snapped. Seeing the hurt in her eyes made him break the rest of the way. This would be the last time he ever hurt her. He had to do this. "I'm broken, I don't know how to love. I don't want love," he told her, blinking away his own tears.

"I don't believe that for a second, Wade." She refused to believe him. She spent countless nights with him. She knew him better than he knew himself. All he wanted was to find that special person to love him, give him all the courage and support in the world.

"I can't offer you anything. I'm bound for nothing. You're bound for greatness." He couldn't have her for a short amount of time. Only to let her go. He wasn't selfish. This was the right thing, even if it felt like it was wrong. Things wouldn't work out next year when she took off for college. He didn't want to be the reason she didn't reach her full potential. "I can't be the reason, I won't be the reason."

"You won't be," she told him, her tears coming faster.

"I will." She shook her head. "Damn it, Zoe!" He yelled getting to his feet. Zoe fell back looking up at him. She didn't want him to say anything else. She was afraid she knew what was coming next and she wished she didn't.

"I love you, Wade. We can make this work," she pleaded getting to her feet.

"I love you too, Zoe," he replied staying away. She was making this harder than need be. "For the last 7 years, I've used you as my personal crutch, to escape my world. I can't keep doing that. This won't work out. I need my space away from you. It's personal, Zoe. I just need to do it." She nodded in understanding. It still hurt. He walked up to her, bringing her in for one last hug. She hugged back tightly, never wanting to let go. He was her best friend. He was suppose to be there for her. And now he was walking away, like she didn't matter. That hurt. He kissed her head, lingering a few extra seconds. Then he was gone, leaving Zoe alone. She fell to ground feeling numb as the tears poured out.

They had both refused to say goodbye.


	9. Chapter 9

Zoe woke up to the early sun, the birds chirping in her ears. Dried tears stuck to her lashes. She wanted last night to be the worst nightmare in her young life thus far. Waking up in the clearing showed her she had been wrong. He had severed ties with her. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as she made her way back home.

"What happened?" Candice asked seeing the grass and a few twigs in her daughters messy hair, the tear streaks that run down her cheeks mixed in with the fresh tears, had her worried. Zoe shook her head and ran to her room. She pulled the key from her pocket. She slammed the door behind her and fell on her bed, burying her head in her pillow. Her body shook from the cries that came out.

"What's wrong with Zoe?" Harley asked stepping from his office.

"I'm thinking it has something to do with Wade. She's a mess," Candice explained with a sigh. "I just don't know what to do."

"Let her be for now," he suggested. "Her punishment for sneaking out and staying gone all night, I feel we need to let it go, this time around," Harley sighed. She was going to put herself through her own punishment, no need to add to that. Candice nodded wrapping her arms around her husband. She wished there was something she could do for her daughter. Shopping wasn't going to fix this.

"It's hard enough on her." She went off to see who was at the door. "Girls, I don't think she's in the mood for company, right now."

"Does it have something to do with a cranky Wade?" Lemon asked pushing herself into the house. AB smiled nervously and followed behind.

"It does," Candice commented. "I'm not sure if she'll want to talk, but you know where her room is." The teens went up the stairs, wasting no time in barging into Zoe's room. Only she wasn't in the room. The girls looked at each other before heading down the hall.

Zoe sat on the bed that Wade would no longer use. His musky smell lingering on the pillow Zoe clutched to her chest. She felt calm holding his pillow to her. For a moment she could picture Wade holding onto her. But then it vanished when she recalled the night before.

"The pain won't ever go away," she whispered, seeing her friends walk into the room. Gingerly they sat on either side of Zoe, hugging her. "He thinks he's better off without me," she sobbed into the pillow.

"Make him see what he's missing out on," Lemon stated. Zoe shook her head.

"No!" She hissed.

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"Because he made it clear. I'm not going to make a fool of myself, to only make him pissed off at me," she sighed holding onto the pillow tighter. "For once, I'm not going to fight him on this. Once he figures things out and when he is ready, I'll be here. This is a fight I've lost. As much as it hurts to lose him, it needs to be done, ya know?" She asked.

"No, we don't know," Lemon stated. "But we understand. We are going to have a girls day that expands right into tomorrow. We're gonna go get everything we need and we will be back. You take a nice warm relaxing bubble bath. That should help." She didn't know if it would or not, she hoped it did. She hated seeing her friend like this. Zoe wouldn't do anything about it, she would.

"Please, Lemon, don't do anything," Zoe pleaded, seeing the twinkle of evil in her friends eye.

"I promise nothing," Lemon smirked. She took the pillow from Zoe and ushered her to the bathroom. "We'll be right back. We need a few things. Zoe's in the tub," Lemon explained hurrying out the door, Annabeth right behind her.

"Lemon, don't," AB told her, seeing that she was going straight to Wade, who was talking with George. "Zoe said not to do this," she pleaded.

"I know what, Zoe said," Lemon hissed. She walked up to the guys and pushed George out of her way. "How dare you! She's hurt, upset and in tears because of your stupid butt. How could you be so selfish? Huh?" Lemon asked her voice raising with each word, her finger jabbing him in the chest. "Did you ever think she might need you?"

"Lemon, that was uncalled for. Zoe told you to leave it be!" Annabeth sneered, pulling Lemon away. "Whatever is going on is for them to figure out. I want to yell at him too, but I won't because other than Zoe being hurt over this, there is other reasons. And they don't concern us," AB told her friend sternly. "This is between Zoe and Wade. We can only be there for our friends. Not make it worse." Lemon huffed and headed off. AB gave Wade a sad smile and chased after Lemon.

"What the heck is going on?" George asked with an amused look on his face. "What stupid thing did you do now?"

"Decided it was time, I figure out my life without Zoe. She's always been there. I've used her as my crutch for years now. I need to learn how to stand on my own two feet," he sighed.

"I think this has to be the stupidest thing you have ever done," George told him. "You need her, no shame there. But I guess you'll see that." Wade shrugged. He wasn't going to admit that what he did was messed up. His emotions, mainly his anger got the best of him. One thing was for sure he wasn't going to crawl back to Zoe. He wasn't going to look like a fool. One that couldn't make up his mind on things.

"Whatever," he muttered walking off. George shook his head watching his friend walk away. He was ruining so many things by kicking Zoe to the curb, the way he had. He'd slowly talk some sense into Wade and make him see how big of a mistake he was making.

Zoe laid on her bed, making sure she had Wade's pillow with her. His scent was the only thing that kept her calm and kept her from wanting to cry her eyes out.

Settling down to watch helpless romantic movies and comedies had helped to keep her mind off the subject of Wade. The ice cream and endless amount of junk food may have played a part as well.

She had to admit she missed hanging out with her girls. Doing make overs and nails. Gossiping about everything that was going on. Just laying back and being a girl and not worrying about how someone was going to see you. Not that she cared what Wade thought about her to begin with. It was just nice to be able to be a girl.


	10. Chapter 10

As the months past, it was a little easier to go about life without Wade by her side. She still left her window open for him. School was the hardest part. He wouldn't glance her way. Found a new partner in science, leaving her alone. She watched as he shamelessly flirted with a redhead. She could hear her heart break even more. That was suppose to be her, not Tara.

"Hi, I'm Colton." Zoe gave the blonde-hair blue-eyed boy a smile.

"Hi, I'm Zoe. Where are you from?" She asked, moving her stuff from his side of the table.

"Brooklyn."

"No way!" She exclaimed, gaining attention from most the class. She shrank in her seat.

"You wouldn't mind showing me around after school, would you?" Zoe quickly looked in Wade's direction, seeing he had his arm over Tara's shoulder.

"It's not big by no means, but I'll show you all the cool spots."

"Cool," he nodded. Zoe smiled getting back to her work.

The day had seemed to move by rather slowly. But before she knew it, she was standing in front of her locker getting her things sorted.

"That new guy, seemed to be all smiles around him. Did you see Wade's face?" Lemon asked with a soft chuckle. "Deserves him right."

"No it doesn't," Zoe sighed. She hated that this was hurting Wade, but she wasn't going to sit around and wait for him to come to his senses, that could be a few years. "He may have been a dick, but he's still my best friend," she seethed, slamming her locker shut. She stormed off. She let a small smile escape seeing Colton. "Ready?" He gave her a nod.

"You ok?" He asked as they walked. He had been told by a bunch of people that Zoe Wilkes was undateable.

"Friend drama," she replied. "I need to go into the practice and let my Dad know what's going on." He nodded letting Zoe run into the practice. "Hey Dad," she frowned seeing his office empty.

"He had a house visit to attend to. Zoe, you need anything?" Zoe shook her head. "Alright."

"Thanks Dr. Breeland." He nodded and Zoe was out the door. She stopped in her tracks seeing Wade and a blond talking to Colton. She cautiously walked up to them.

"Hey, Zo," Wade smirked. Seeing his smirk made her knees turn into jello. Hearing him call her Zo, stirred her feelings for him.

"It's Zoe, Kinsella," she hissed. She wasn't mad at him any more. She missed him most of all.

"I do know that, Zo. We've been friends since we toddlers." She glared at him finding it hard to keep this fake wall of hurt up.

"I was there to Wade. I remember. I also remember you saying you don't want to be friends with me," she huffed crossing her arms over her chest.

"Real mature, Zoe. You really wanted to have this out, in the middle of the street?" Wade yelled.

"The whole town already knows our business, so it didn't really matter, now does it?" She yelled flinging her arms in the air.

"I don't need this. My life has been drama free since that night. I like it better that way," he yelled, walking backwards.

"Don't come crying to me next month either!" It was a low blow. He was going to need her whether he was fighting with her or not.

"Wade Kinsella, doesn't cry and he sure in the hell doesn't need a single person in this town including you, Zoe," he yelled disappearing from sight, leaving Zoe slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry about that," Zoe apologized looking down.

"More friend drama?" Colton asked. She nodded her head, her eyes landing on the blond girl.

"I'm Cindy, Colt's twin sister. Wade was going to show me around, but now, uh, would it be safe to go after him?" Zoe didn't want her to go after him. That was her job. Wade was her's.

"It's best to let him have some space. He's not the most stable guy when angry," Zoe told her. It was on a little white lie, to keep her from going after him our even trying anything with her.

"From the rumors at school, he's the wrong guy to get involved with." Hearing Colton's words made Zoe seethe. No one was going to talk about her best friend like that.

"You don't know anything about Wade. He's the sweetest person in this town. Rumors are rumors for a reason," she huffed.

"I'm starting to believe the rumors they say about you," Colton responded.

"I don't care either. Go ahead and believe, everything and anything you want to believe. This town is small and if you get lost, you should be able to find your way home," she snapped at him.

"Zoe!" Was being called behind her. She sheepishly turned around. "Is that how we talk to people?" Sucking up her sudden dislike for Colton and Cindy, she turned around to face the teens.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, through clenched teeth.

"Your Mom needs you at home." Zoe nodded rushing off in the direction of home. She was really starting to like Colton, until he bad mouthed Wade. No one was allowed to bad mouth her best friend in front of her.

"Dad said you needed me," Zoe said, placing back pack on a kitchen chair.

"I never said that," Candice told her daughter, looking up from her work. "Have any school work?" Zoe shook her head. It made no sense for her dad to lie to her like that. "Have you cleaned your room?" She sighed, taking her bag to her room.

It had only taken her a few minutes to get her room her cleaned. She frowned seeing her bedroom window had been closed. She opened it a crack, heading downstairs.

"We're going to the Rammer Jammer for dinner. We have to meet your father there." Zoe nodded, knowing that Wade would be working tonight. She was happy but terrified at the same time after what had happened earlier in front of the practice.

Her eyes were trained to focus on him. On the inside Wade was smirking, feeling Zoe's eyes on him. He had made eye contact with her a few times and she never looked away. Maybe they could fix things after all.

Zoe had followed him outside on his break. She had planned on telling him she was sorry, but seeing him leaning against the wall, hurt wrote on his face, she was at a loss on what to say.

"If you're just gonna stand there, I suggest you go back inside and join your family. The last thing I need is your damn pity," he shot, keeping his eyes closed. That wasn't what he was going to say. He was going to suck it up and fix things before they got worse; he just made them worse.

"Whatever, Wade," she sighed, walking off. He infuriated her at times. But that only made her love him even more.


	11. Chapter 11

**_As you'll see, this chapter is a flashback. The next few chapters will be as well. If there is anything in particular you want, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I already have the next chapter planned out._**

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><p><em>It was the week after Zoe's 12th birthday. Her parents were going out of town for the weekend, including Friday and Monday morning. They would be back when she got home from school, Monday. She was excited that they put that much trust into her.<em>

_"We trust you, Zoe. If you need anything, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are right next door. The numbers are on the fridge," Zoe nodded, as her parents went on about the rules. No parties, she must get up on time and go to school. Normally when her parents went away, she would stay with Lemon or AB. But now that she was twelve, old enough to baby sit and look after herself, they were going to let her stay home by herself. They had to let her grow up at some point. Their little girl was growing up, faster than they would have liked. But with the town of Bluebell keeping a special eye on her, what was going to go wrong?_

_"Lemon, Annabeth, George and Wade can come over, but they can't stay the night." Zoe nodded. Wade would be staying whether they said he could or not. She knew her parents had told the neighbors to keep an eye on her. So Wade would have to leave and sneak back in like he always does._

_"I know the rules, I'll call and check in with you at the requested times. I'll be fine. You have the whole town watching over me. You both need to go before you're late," Zoe told them, pushing them out the door. "Have fun and enjoy your teenage girl free weekend."_

_"Why do I not like the sound of that?" Harley asked walking to the car._

_"Because you worry way too much, daddy. Relax and enjoy the next four days. The house will still be standing, everything will be the same way, nothing will be broken or damaged. I promise," she explained, insuring them that things would be ok while they were gone. She had yet to break their trust in her. _

_"I can't help but love my little girl," he called back. Zoe rolled her eyes a smile playing on her lips. She was proud to be a daddies girl. When she was little she had followed him around everywhere he went. Instead of dressing up in her moms clothes, she wore her dad's practitioner coat's and played with her dad's old medical bag. She did however, love her mother's shoes and would wear them whenever she had the chance._

_"Love you to, Daddy. Love you, Mom," she yelled, waving._

_"Love you to, sweetie."_

_With their car out of sight, she headed into the house to clean up from dinner. They needed to travel to Atlanta and needed to be there by Friday afternoon, they didn't have to leave until early Friday morning but they didn't want to be tired either. It had made more sense to leave Thursday night. Harley had agreed to be a guest speaker at a high school. They were going to make a mini vacation out of it and head home Monday morning, instead of dealing with Sunday traffic. _

_"Boo!" Wade yelled, jumping into view. Zoe rolled her eyes._

_"Real scary, Wade. Had me shaking for a minute," sarcasm oozed from her words. Wade shrugged, hosting himself up on the counter._

_"When do the rents return?" Wade asked stealing a cookie._

_"Sometime Monday before schools out," she replied running water for the dishes. "You eat yet?" She asked turning to look at him._

_"Not since lunch at school and this cookie," he explained holding up the half eaten cookie. Turning the water off, she got Wade a plate of leftovers. She didn't bother to give him any salad, he wouldn't eat it, just complain about it. She warmed the chicken Alfredo up, before handing him the plate. He had jumped down to get a can of coke for himself, taking his spot on the counter once more._

_It felt and looked like they were playing house. Zoe was busy washing the dishes and taking care of him. They were 12, way to old to be playing little kid games like house. Oddly enough they both felt serene, it just felt right; them together._

_"You make the popcorn and I'll pick the move out. You get no say," he smirked, letting his plate and fork sink in the suds formed from the dish soap._

_"I don't think so," she protested._

_"I'm the guest," he smirked, turning to look at her._

_"Uninvited guest," she argued back._

_"Still a guest, don't forget the soda," he replied, walking to the living room, leaving Zoe standing in the kitchen with a scowl on her face. If she wanted a say in the movie she better hurry up and wash his plate._

_"Where's the popcorn?" He asked seeing her walk into the living room with chips and soda._

_"It's gone so either you deal with cups for the night or you go without," she remarked. He huffed playfully, sitting next to her._

_"They'll do," he sighed, taking the bowl from her._

_"Really?" She asked seeing he had picked out Scream. "You know how I hate scary movies," she pouted._

_"I'll be here all night. I just have to sneak out in the morning," he assured her._

_"Such a messed up friendship we have," she commented, stealing the chips back._

_"That's just us, Zo." She nodded, agreeing with him. She wouldn't have it any other way._

_Throughout the movie she buried her head into him. He smirked putting a protective arm around her, having the need to protect her from everything. She was his best friend, but it was more than that, he just couldn't put his thumb on it. He was scared to dig deeper into the unknown, afraid what he would find there._

_Zoe found complete and utter safety in his arms. Being I'm his arms was like heaven to her, but it was more than that. It was the one place she wanted be, but couldn't be, because they were best friends. Over the last few days she had felt her feelings for him start to change, she just denied them, not wanting to ruin the friendship they had. Feelings tend to ruin the best things in your life. Without Wade she'd be lost._

_They had turned off the lights going up to Zoe's room. They both got ready for bed, before they met up in Zoe's room. It felt weird that he wasn't climbing through the window after Zoe went to bed. _

_"This feels weird," Zoe commented leaving Wade some room on her bed._

_"You don't have to tell me, Zo," he chuckled, climbing into bed. Like every night for the past few years, Zoe curled into his side, where she fit like a puzzle piece._

_School moved by fast for a Friday. Wade had snuck back in and they ordered pizza and watched movies all night long, passing out on the couch around 2 in the morning. They had slept until 2 in the afternoon when there was banging on the door. Zoe pulled the door open to see who had woken them._

_"Hey, Lavon. What can I do for ya?" She asked joining him on the porch, shutting the door behind her._

_"Lavon, is sorry, but my Dad sent me over to make sure you were ok. They didn't see any sign you were alive over here." Zoe nodded, with a polite smile._

_"I was up late last night, got sucked into a movie, I was still sleeping. You can tell them I'm ok," she told him, opening the door. "I'm going to go get ready for the day now. I'll talk to ya later, Lavon."_

_"Sure thing, Zoe," he nodded, walking off._

_She groaned setting that Wade had beat her to the shower. She would have used her parents bathroom, if her stuff wasn't in the bathroom with Wade. Her wait wasn't very long anyway. She had busied herself cleaning the mess from the night before._

_When she had finished with her shower, her friends were in the living room. Before she could join them though, she had a phone to answer._

_"Hello?"_

_"How is everything?" Candice asked._

_"Good," Zoe answered, leaning against the counter in the kitchen._

_"What are you up to?"_

_"Talking to you," Zoe answered to be smart. "I'm not sure. My friends are here now, so it's still being decided."_

_"Alright, I'll let you go. Bye, Zoe. Have fun."_

_"Enjoy your weekend and remember, I enjoy being an only child. Bye," she told her mom, quickly hanging up. "What's the plan?" Zoe asked joining her friends._

_"Water park in Fairhope, my mom said she'd take us," Lemon stated._

_"Sounds fun," Zoe agreed with a grin._

_"Great, meet at my house in about a half hour," Lemon stated, getting up._

_"I don't think I'll swim," Wade confessed, following Zoe upstairs._

_"Why?" Zoe asked, walking into her room._

_"I don't want to go home and get my swim stuff. I really don't want to deal with my Dad," he answered, shrugging his shoulders._

_"You can borrow a towel and my Mom washed your green and yellow swim trunks from the pool last weekend. There in your room," Zoe told him getting her swim stuff put into her bag._

_"Oh," he responded, walking off down the hall. She shook her head, giggling._

_About an hour later they were having fun in the water. _

_"You okay?" Lemon asked, sitting by Zoe. She nodded keeping her focus on Wade and George. "It's just you seem awfully quiet today." She chewed her lip debating whether she should tell them about her sudden crush on her best friend._

_"It's complicated," she sighed tearing her gaze away from Wade to look at Lemon and AB._

_"Uncomplicate things for us then," AB told her._

_"I think, I have a crush on Wade. I don't want to either," she sighed, looking down._

_"Why? Wade's a hunk," Annabeth commented._

_"And he's your best friend. You know him inside and out, Zo," Lemon told her, adding her insight._

_"He's my best friend and I don't want to ruin that," she told them, getting up. She headed up to one of the slides, needing to be away from her friends._

_The weekend had went by fast, too fast for Zoe's liking. Wade had went home a few times to make an appearance. He still showed up again and they'd watch movies. She had enjoyed her weekend with Wade and her friends. She may have been 12 but she was starting to miss her parents._

_School had dragged on, like a normal Monday at school. She was happy when the final bell rung. She smiled seeing her dad's car in the driveway._

_"Told you I would be fine," she announced, walking into the house. Harley shook his head._

_"It wasn't that we didn't trust you, sweetie. We were scared to leave you home that long by yourself. But you were right, we had nothing to worry about."_

_"Especially when you have the whole town on Zoe watch," she told them going to her room._


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: This flashback does play a factor with a future chapter. I only have one more flashback before I get back to the main part of the story.**_

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><p><em>A smile crossed Zoe's lips seeing her Dad had pulled into Wade's driveway. Her parents were going away for the weekend. Who better to let her stay with than the Kinsella's? The Breeland's were out of town for the weekend, but if Zoe was given the chance to pick, it would have been the house she is at now. <em>

_"Zo, what are you doing here?" An 8-year-old Wade asked from his spot at the table._

_"Sleep over, duh," Zoe told him. She slipped her arm through his. "Me and you, cowboy," she giggled, stealing an apple slice, covered in caramel._

_"That make you an angel?" He asked with a grin. Zoe rolled her eyes sitting next to him._

_"Zoe, be good," Harley started to warn._

_"I know Daddy. Mind my manners and listen to what the Kinsella's say. Behave and everything in between. I love you, Daddy," she smiled, hugging him, she pulled away kissing his cheek._

_"I love you, too sweetie." He kissed her head, letting her go, a soft chuckle playing on his lips._

_"Come on, let's play outside." They had a little fort outside._

_"I'll be the Mommy and you can be the Daddy," Zoe grinned, making Wade groan._

_"Why don't you be the doctor and I'll be the patient," he suggested._

_"Okay," Zoe nodded._

_Zoe giggled seeing Wade practically wrapped up like a mummy. Wade softly scowled at her only making Zoe giggle more. It only took a few seconds before Wade found Zoe's laughter contagious and joined in with the laughter._

_"You two are dorks," Jesse mumbled, seeing his brother and Zoe._

_"You're a jerk," Wade growled._

_"Whatever, little bro," Jesse snickered, walking off._

_"I hate him!" Wade muttered, sitting on the ground. Zoe sat next to him._

_"At least we're dorks together." Hearing her words made him crack a smile. "He's the dork any how," Zoe told him with a small smile._

_"Wanna play a game?" He asked, looking at her._

_"Sure what game?" Zoe asked getting to her feet. Wade shrugged running inside, Zoe hot on his heels._

_"No running in the house!" Jackie called out, making Zoe bump into Wade when he had stopped. "Is your room clean?" Jackie asked. Wade sighed going to his room._

_"I'll help," Zoe told him. He went to protest, but Zoe was already in the midst of picking things up. He wasn't going to complain, Zoe wanted to help and it meant that they'd be able to play sooner._

_"You didn't have to help," Wade told her, laying on the floor, putting a puzzle together. Zoe shrugged her shoulders._

_"It's what friends are for," she replied, taking the piece he put down to put it where it belonged on the puzzle._

_"Best friends," he told her with a toothless smile. Zoe grinned back. They laid in silence putting the puzzle together. "When do you go home?" He asked after Zoe put the last piece to the puzzle in its spot._

_"Sunday," she replied, helping him put the Batman puzzle away._

_"Wade, get your blankets moved to Jesse's room," Jackie told her son, walking into the room with blankets and a pillow for Zoe._

_"But, Mom, we were gonna build a fort and sleep in it," Wade whined._

_"No, buts," Jackie sternly told her son making him burst in laughter._

_"Mom said but," he said between laughs. Zoe rolled her eyes a small giggle falling from her lips. Seeing Wade laugh so hard was a funny sight. _

_"Wade!" Jackie warned. Wade scrambled to his feet getting his blanket and pillow. Zoe sat on the floor amazed at how fast Wade stopped goofing off._

_"Mrs. Kinsella, I've shared a room with Wade before. Why can't I now?" Zoe asked, helping her make the bed._

_"You're older now." Zoe had a feeling that was going to be the only reason she got. What did she expect them to do, stay up and play all night? Or was it something else? Zoe shrugged at her own thoughts._

_Wade jumped on his bed. Zoe let a squeal out. He flung his little arm around Zoe's shoulder._

_"Do they not understand we are the three musketeers, minus the third one?" He asked causing Zoe to let a giggle erupt from her lips._

_"You could just say we are the two musketeers. Apparently," Zoe told him, flinging her own little arm around his shoulders. "We are now older," she told her best friend, the excuse she had gotten from his mother._

_"Yea, because we're gonna stay up all night, doing what exactly?" He asked with a huff. Zoe shrugged for a response, none of it making sense to her._

_"Kissing," Jesse smirked, walking past his little brothers room._

_"Ewww," both Zoe and Wade yelled, looking at each other._

_"Wade, your Dad needs you," Jackie announced from the doorway. Wade headed out to his father leaving his Mom and best friend alone. "I'm making chocolate chip cookies, wanna help?" Zoe nodded, slipping off Wade's bed._

_Zoe stood on a chair to help Jackie make the cookie dough. Zoe went to steal a small chuck of the cookie dough, only to be met by the stern looking face of Jackie._

_"What are you doing?" Jackie asked, amusement in her voice. Her eyes spoke with authority._

_"Nothing," Zoe told her in a small voice, dropping the cookie dough back into the bowl._

_"You can get really sick from eating cookie dough, Zoe." She nodded, playing with the spoon._

_"Wait! He did that?" Zoe asked laughing. They had finished the cookies and they were cooling off on the counter. Wade was still gone with his Dad._

_"He did," Jackie smiled, looking at the picture, where not only was Wade in a silly bunny costume, but Jesse was dressed in a little pony costume._

_"I don't remember this," Zoe commented, looking at the picture. Surely she would have remembered Wade as a bunny. It was only from a year ago or so._

_"We were visiting family, last summer."_

_"Why were they a bunny and a pony?" Zoe asked._

_"MOM!" Wade pouted, grabbing the picture from Zoe. "Not cool."_

_"It was cute," Zoe told him._

_"I'm a boy, we're dirty not cute," he informed her._

_"Spoil sport," Zoe mumbled racing up the stairs after Wade._

_"Checkers or Sorry?" Wade asked holding the games up._

_"Battleship," Zoe said, digging the game out. Wade shrugged, placing the games on his bed, getting his ships in place._

_They spent the rest of the afternoon playing Battleship. Wade wanted to beat Zoe at least once, but he couldn't do it. The one game he was going to win, they had to call it quits, to get washed up for dinner._

_They had talked about their day, Zoe paid no attention to what was being said. She wondered about her parents. She was missing them. This was only her second time away from them._

_"You ok?" Wade asked, stealing one of her cookies._

_"I'm fine," Zoe assured him, swiping her cookie back from him. He shrugged, eating his own cookies._

_After they finished their milk and cookies they had to brush their teeth and get ready for bed. They rushed down the stairs to watch Peter Pan before bed._

_Earl turned the movie off half way through, seeing both Wade and Zoe were passed out and Jesse was drifting off. Earl got Wade and Zoe carried to bed. Jesse stumbled up the stairs half a sleep with Jackie guiding him to bed._

_Zoe shot up in bed hearing the loud bang of thunder. At home she would have crawled into bed with her parents. She hated the thunder. She hugged her pillow, hiding under the blanket. She jumped when she heard the door squeak followed by a loud clap of thunder. She squealed feeling the blanket move and the bed dip down._

_"Shh, Zo. It's just me," Wade comforted her. Zoe fell into his embrace. Everything felt safe in their embrace, Zoe just didn't know why or question it. Instead she let sleep take over._


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: The flashback that was intended for this chapter has been slightly delayed for a future chapter, when it fits better into the story.**_

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><p>"Me and you, Cowboy," Zoe whispered, slipping her arm through his. The school getting smaller behind them. She wasn't sure why he was leaving at lunch, but she had the sudden urge to follow him, to make sure he was ok. She was sick of waiting for him to come to her.<p>

"That make you my angel?" He whispered, keeping the smirk to himself. He didn't need Zoe to answer that question, though. He knew deep down, she was his angel. The light he needed each and everyday. He had been miserable without her. His pride, he couldn't break it no matter how bad he wanted to. Memories floated through his head, the second he made the biggest mistake of his life. "You should hate me." Zoe stopped, making him come to a halt.

"Why? Why in the world should I hate my best friend for?" She asked, daring him to look in her eyes. Which he wouldn't and couldn't meet. "You messed up. You hurt me when you walked away. But I could never hate you, Wade, ever." She could see that a smile wanted to tug on his lips. She took his hands in hers. "You could do any stupid thing, Wade, and I'd still be here, hurt, maybe even broken but I would never hate you. I have way to much love for you, I care way to deeply about you. If you think we won't work out, we won't try dating. I still want you in my life Wade. You're always going to be my best friend. I don't want to lose you. I wouldn't be able to handle that." Every word she spoke came directly from her heart. Bearing her soul to him.

"Zo," he whispered, cupping her cheek, his thumb wiping the lone tear away. She nuzzled into his warmth. "I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling her flush against him. Zoe wrapped her arms around him, feeling the same safety in his arms from when she was 8 years old.

"I know," she whispered into the side of his neck. They stood in the middle of town square, in a tight embrace. It could be read as more than a friendly hug, maybe it was more, but to Wade and Zoe, it was just a hug of forgiveness, a mend in their relationship.

"Every thing is set, for next month," Wade commented out of the blue. Zoe nodded, looking down. This was his way of asking if she was still coming with him on his mini road trip before senior year.

"I've got the all clear," she lied to him. At this moment in time she didn't care if she had the all clear to go or not. They had wasted valuable time away from each other as it was. They needed this time alone.

"Really?" Wade asked shocked, Zoe nodded her head. He was surprised that Harley would agree to that. He studied his best friend. He had always been able to tell when she was lying. He knew her inside and out. But this time he couldn't tell.

"We're good, right?" Zoe asked in a small voice.

"We're more than good, Zo. Now run along home before you get into any more trouble for skipping the last half of the day." Zoe smiled, giving him one last hug before making her way home quickly.

"Where do you think you are going?" Harley asked, making his daughter freeze in her spot. She smiled nervously, turning to look at her parents.

"I was making up with Wade," she answered honestly.

"Are you guys good?" Candice asked with a small smile. Harley shot her a look. "It was wrong of you to skip school," she stated, turning serious again.

"We are good. I know, but I had to know what was wrong with him. It's not like him to walk out of school." She had went after Wade to see what was wrong, but she never asked him, she felt stupid for not asking if he was ok. She was so worried about herself.

"And, did you?" Harley asked. Zoe slowly shook her head.

"Two Weeks, home, school, the practice and church on Sundays." She nodded her head, understanding her punishment. "Wade is forbidden to climb through your bedroom window, now that you guys are friends again," Harley stated in a demanding tone.

"I suppose this is a bad time to ask you guys a really important question?" She asked, chewing on her lip.

"That depends on the question, sweetie," Candice said. Zoe moved her weight from one foot to the other.

"Well," she said, licking her lips. "I get amazing grades, I don't cause trouble, I do what's asked of me," she started to say, pausing to see if her parents were still following her. "Next month is the first month of summer vacation. You see Wade needs to take a trip else where, to find himself, now more than ever. I would hate for him to go alone, he's gonna need a friend there for him. I need for that friend to be me," she pleaded.

"This is a big deal, Zoe. I know we can trust you, but..." Zoe sighed, fearing the next words out of her father's mouth. She had already told Wade she could go, how could she tell him otherwise, without breaking what had just been fixed between them?

"I don't see the harm in letting her go with him. They have phones, as long as you call every night, to let us know you're ok." Harley shot his wife a disapproving look. Zoe smiled, relieved that her Mom was on her side. "It won't be much longer and she'll be leaving for college, let her have some fun with her last summer vacation of high school. It doesn't hurt anyone."

"I don't like the idea of this, but you have to call every single night. I want to know when you leave and the day you'll be back, where do you plan on going. And if anything changes, I need to know." Zoe nodded with a grin on her face. She rushed around the table hugging her parents.

"Thank you, it means the world to me that you guys trust me this much. You'll have everything," Zoe promised, rushing up to her room to get started on the work she did have. She made sure her window was open a small enough crack that Wade would be able to open it the rest of the way himself. Now that they had made up, he was sure to climb through her window, that had her excited at the very thought.

A smile graced her lips as she worked. She was so absorbed in her happy thoughts about being allowed to go with Wade next month, having Wade back in her life again. She had no reason to be sad any longer, she never heard her window open.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Wade smirked, seeing her jump.

"Butt head," she smiled, turning to look at him. She had missed having him in her room. "You're not suppose to be here. Forbidden was the word my Dad used. Grounded for two Weeks, so thanks for that." Wade held the smirk he wore, seeing the smile that Zoe had yet to wipe off her face.

"That's not long, though. 14 days, it'll fly by. Then you'll be able to think about all the fun we'll have on our trip to Florida."

"About that," Zoe said, moving to her bed to sit next to him.

"They didn't change their minds did they?" He asked, looking defeated.

"No," Zoe was quick to say, taking his hand in hers. "They need to know where we are going and every other aspect of the trip."

"That's not that bad. They care about you, they want you to be safe," Wade responded, pulling Zoe into a side hug. Everything felt right after the torture he put them through, for nothing. She could get caught. He wasn't suppose to be here in her room, but this was a risk worth taking. She was never going to close her window, it would always remain open for him. Always.


	14. Chapter 14

"You sure, you know what you are doing?" Zoe asked with a sigh, tossing her phone on the seat. It did her no good. She couldn't get a signal for the life of her.

"It's not rocket science, Zo. I know how to change a damn tire," Wade responded, sightly annoyed. They were in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Georgia. "Stop being a damn drama queen," he smirked, tightening the lug nuts.

"Me? I am NOT a drama queen!" She protested, with a slight pout.

"Why don't you just get in the damn car, so we can go find a hotel before it gets to damn late and you're stuck camping." She gave him a playful glare, moving around the car to get in.

The trip had started pretty good, and they had made amazing process, at least Zoe had thought so. They only had stopped now because they got a flat tire. Wade had made sure that his truck had gotten a very thorough check. He wanted nothing to go wrong. Though you couldn't stop something from ramming through your tire on the highway.

"Why did... never mind " she sighed, letting her question fade away.

"Why what, Zoe? You know you can ask me anything." She did know that, but did she really want to open that can of worms, this far away from home? It wasn't like, he would leave her along side the road. She couldn't stand them fighting the whole trip.

"You push me away, Wade. It hurts because I'm your best friend, or has that changed? But it took little effort on my part to end things and for everything to be fine between us. What's going through your head?" She asked chewing her lip, out of a nervous habit.

"Remember when we were twelve? The day Caryl wanted to race around Bluebell, winner got my new bike, my dad had got me, from one of the many times he tried to quit drinking?" She remembered the day quite fondly, what she didn't know was what that day had to do with how he felt. "They cheated so they could win."

"I saw the whole thing and I wouldn't let them take your bike. They wouldn't hit me because I was a girl. They made fun of you and after they left you shoved me to the ground," Zoe rattled off, her attention directly in front of her on the road. "What does that have to do with how you feel now?"

"How about that time I got into a fight with Tucker and you just had to tell our parents about it? Or the time I fell out of the tree? There's the time..."

"Yeah ok, I get it, I was always there to help you, when you didn't want my help. But that's being a friend, Wade. You did the same for me countless times. I never got mad at you," she told him, only growing more confused by all of it. He sighed pulling into a motel parking lot.

"I'm a guy, I can handle all of that on my own, maybe not that broken leg, but the rest, was on me to defend myself. I'm happy that you were there for me when I needed you. Because I've had some tough days to live through, if it wasn't for you, I don't know where I'd be. What I'm trying to say, is that..." he trailed off, thinking his next words very carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Zoe's feelings. This trip was about fun and not them fighting about something that had already been resolved.

"That it hurt in more than one way? That you felt embarrassed, humiliated and ashamed that I was your friend?" She asked, looking at the few cars that happened to pass by.

"No and yes. I felt like but not because you were my friend, because you never let me try to stick up for myself, you always jumped in, making the guys joke that much more about things. I guess I just needed to see if I could strand on my own two feet without you. I know I can, but it was miserable without you."

"Then why didn't you fix it sooner?" She asked outraged.

"My pride for one. I couldn't be the one to admit that I was in the wrong."

"Sometimes I have to wonder why I'm still friends with you!" She hissed, getting out to slam the door. Wade followed suit with a sigh. This was the last thing he wanted to happen. He loved her, deeply. He hated to be the one to hurt her. He had enough of that already.

He had got them a room, the only rooms left were the ones that a had a queen sized bed in it. It didn't bother him, and he would be positive that Zoe would be okay with it after he fixed this little rift between them.

"How are the rents?" Wade asked, flipping through fuzzy channel after fuzzy channel, seeing Zoe enter the room, from talking to her dad. Zoe shrugged, getting what she needed to get ready for bed. "Why are you still friends with me?" Zoe leaned against the small counter in the bathroom. She loved him, and this time away only showed her she needed him in her life. No one else knew her like he did. Her memories were filled with him. They had been through too much to call it quits now.

"Because," she replied, leaving it there. He knew just as well as she did why they were still friends. That way no else would swoop in. It was easier to hold someone at arms length, than to lose them altogether.

She tossed her clothes on her suitcase, getting into bed. Wade made no move, letting Zoe determine what she wanted. She moved to snuggle into him ready to forget the conversation they had. Wade smiled draping an arm around her.

The rest of the trip had moved a long rather fast and by midday they were in a small town in Florida. They had everything they needed. So that was where they were going to call home for the next two weeks. They had their option of how many beds they wanted and together they had settled with one. No need for an extra bed.

Their days had been filled with the beach. They were both okay with that. At night they had went out and found something to do. But it was, getting a little old for both of them. They were having fun and all but they were ready to go home when the week and a half was up. They had to be out of their room by 11 the next morning.

"Leave it to you to find rum. Where did you get it any ways?" Zoe asked, shutting her suitcase. She had made sure she had everything packed away that she wouldn't need tomorrow morning.

"I've got my ways," he smirked, pouring some for her in a plastic cup that came with the room. "It's been one hell of time here, hasn't it?" Zoe nodded, taking the cup from him.

Half the bottle was gone when they had decided to call it a night. Zoe went to kiss his cheek, but at the last minute, her lips found his. He kissed back. The kiss that was heating up had sobered both of them up. Wade pulled Zoe on top of him, his lips attacking her neck.

They knew they were playing with fire here, but the sensations that shot through their bodies, felt amazing. This was wrong on so many levels, but at that moment it felt right. Consequences be damned.


	15. Chapter 15

From the time they had woke up, neither one of them had said a word. It was only a little less than an hour into the trip home. Zoe wanted to blame the rum, but she couldn't do that. She was sober enough to know what she wanted and everything that happened last night, she wanted. The only thing she didn't want, was for them to lose their friendship over this. They both knew what they were doing, now they had to own up to that, it needed to be brought up and worked through.

"I don't regret it," Zoe blurted, finally having enough of the quiet.

"You hungry? Because I'm starving." That wasn't what she was expecting Wade to say.

"Yeah," Zoe replied. "Seriously, though, Wade. Last night, I don't regret it. We have been each others first for everything else, it kinda seems perfect that we shared this with each other."

"Kinda?" Wade asked, parking.

"Yeah. It would have been better if we were dating and not just friends. Nothing has to come from this. It happened, it's a bit to late to change the past. But do you really want to?" Zoe asked, her bottom lip between her teeth.

"No," he replied, turning to look at her. Her soft skin against his hands, the way her breath had caught in her throat, the look of pure ecstasy that was etched in her face. He saw it all, it was on repeat in his head. He was having a hard time trying to wrap his head around the events that had taken place. He wasn't expecting it to happen. Zoe was his first, and he wouldn't change what happened between them. He didn't regret it either. He was rejoiced when Zoe felt the f way about this. As much as he wanted to date her, he couldn't do that. She was going away next summer. There was no way, he could be with her for a year only to be forced to give her up. He couldn't do that. "It's not going to change anything between us, Zo. We're best friends. We fight, we make up and we do stupid shit, together. Last night it was amazing and special for both of us. We're okay with happened, so let's go get some lunch."

"Okay." She knew that was going to be the most she got from him about all of this, and that was ok, because it made sense. No point in dwelling on something they both were okay with happening.

Lunch had been filled with laughter, stealing the others food. It had been good. A sign that last night wasn't going to change things between them.

The atmosphere in the truck had relaxed. They had been able to laugh at things along the way home. They were happy that everything had been sorted out. Their friendship at plenty of flaws, but last night wasn't one of the many flaws.

"I figured that instead off strong at night fall, I'll just drive through the fungal leg in the dark. We're close anyway." That sounded good to her. She didn't want to spend another night in a motel, when she could sleep in her own bed.

"That sounds quite perfect to me," she responded, getting her phone out. "George's parents are leaving all weekend," Zoe commented, reading the message from Lemon.

"He's going to have a real rager? Huh?" Wade asked, turning the radio station off. Static got annoying real quick.

"For like an hour before he kicks everyone out, paranoid his parents will find out," Zoe answered, putting her phone down.

"His parties are the worst. It's a waste of time." Zoe couldn't agree more.

"Wade, I really do need to pee," Zoe whined.

"Didn't we just stop like twenty minutes ago so you could use the restroom?" Wade asked.

"Yes but, I gotta go."

"You're gonna have to hold it or pee along side of the road."

"I'm not some animal, or you," she stated firmly.

"Nice to know, I'm not some filthy animal," he smirked.

"No, just a clean one," she joked, turning the radio on, messing with the channels only to give up after 20 minutes turning it back off.

"What?" Wade asked, feeling her eyes on him.

"Nothing," she replied, leaning back in her seat, shutting her eyes.

"It's something, now what it's it?" He asked stopping at a gas station.

"Just thinking about things. This time next year, I'm going to be getting ready to leave, somewhere for college. It's scary to think," she responded with a shrug. "It's going to be weird not having you with me."

"Zo," he sighed. Next summer was going to be hard enough on him. He didn't need constant reminders. "It off going to be, but this what you want. I'm not going to be the one to tell you not up chase your dreams. I won't be that kinda of person."

"I know your not. Just like I'm not the kind of friend to pester you about college. Wade?" She asked, tubing in her seat to look at him the best she could with the seat belt that was keeping in her place.

"What, Zo?" He asked, sparing a glance.

"This is our senior year." Didn't they just go over this? "I just think that it would be better if we didn't fight, I want to focus on school and nothing else."

"No dating?".Wade asked, holding his smirk in.

"What's the point? It'll have to end, when summer does. The last thing I want going to college with is a broken heart. We have went to so many dances and school events, it wouldn't be the same if that changed now," she told him with a slight shrug. The smile she wore, could light up the night sky.

"I'm with you on that. Me and you this year, Zoe. No one else." Hearing him say that made her smile turn into a grin.

"This is going to be our year, Wade." He really hoped Zoe was right about this. He didn't want to start a fight with her and lose even more time before she was off, but he wasn't going to hold back either.

The sun had set leaving Wade to drive the last half hour in the dark. Zoe was passed out, her head resting against the side of the window. It was at a stop sign that he saw a shooting star. He made a wish.


	16. Chapter 16

_**I have this story finished, so between today and tomorrow I'll have the final chapters posted.**_

* * *

><p>Zoe woke up just as they were crossing the line into Bluebell. She was happy to be home. She had missed home more than she had thought she would have.<p>

"You coming in?" Zoe asked, the second he pulled up to her house.

"Nah, I think, I'm going to go check on my dad. I'll see you later." Zoe nodded, kissing his cheek.

"Bye," she whispered, getting out. "Can you just bring my stuff back tomorrow? I'm exhausted." She really didn't think she had the strength to get her luggage from the back of his pick up.

"Yea, whenever I manage to get out of bed." He was worse off than Zoe was. He couldn't pull himself from the truck to unload anything. What energy he had needed to be saved for the drive home. Zoe gave him a smile, shutting the door. Wade watched to make sure she got in before leaving.

If Wade had been paying attention, he would have seen the little tan car that sat behind his dad's. But he was by far, why to tired to notice anything that seemed off. He used the railing on the stairs to pull himself to the second level. The wall kept him on his feet, till he could get to his room. He didn't bother with taking his shoes off. He found his bed and laid down, his eyes shutting so the world around him could go dead.

He was woken by the smell of blueberry pancakes. The smell had his mouth-watering. He wasn't dreaming, was he? He looked around, everything was the way it was suppose to be. He had even went as far as pinching his arm. He cursed under his breath. He wasn't dreaming. He was in fact awake. But who would be making pancakes in his house? They didn't smell burnt, so it wasn't his dad. He tossed the blankets off of himself and found his way downstairs.

"You get in late?" Earl asked. Wade noticed that his father was drinking coffee, he couldn't smell the stink of alcohol anywhere. What was going on around here?

"Kinda," he replied, getting himself some coffee. That's when he noticed, who was making the pancakes that had taken the liberty to wake him. "Uh, hi."

"Hello, I'm Janet." Wade nodded, sitting at the table. His dad wasn't crazy enough to go out and get a maid. At least he didn't think he was. He looked from his dad to Janet. She looked to be a few years younger than his dad was. Gray hair was starting to over take her black hair. Her bright blue eyes were like nothing he had ever saw before.

"She's my girlfriend. I've known her since I was little. We were best friends until, your Mom walked into my life." Would that be him and Zoe in 20 years from now? Would someone come along and sweep Zoe off her feet? Would someone come to town and blow his mind? Could he really be looking at his future, before his very eyes? "After you left, I worked up the courage to call her." Had his father been in contact with her all these years? He didn't even want to think if his father had been having an affair on his mother. "I loved your Ma, with every once of my being. I lost myself, when we lost her, Wade." That was enough to show him that his dad had been faithful to his mom. They were soul mates after all. "The best way for you to understand, all of this, is she's what Zoe is to you."

"I don't think you understand exactly what Zoe is to me. Not only is she my best friend, but she's my world. I thought that's what, Mom was to you?" He asked, his anger starting to boil within himself.

"Your mother was the world to me and the moon and the stars, but the love I have for Janet is still there. We can't run from love, Wade. It will only ever come back to us. Don't get me wrong, I loved your Mother, I still love her, but I have enough love for your Mother and for Janet. It's time to move on." He wanted to yell and scream at his father, for wanting to replace the love he had for his mom with some friend from his childhood. But he couldn't do it. He wasn't replacing his love for anyone, he was allowed to love who ever he wanted, now. His mom would only want for her family to be happy. And if this Janet lady made him happy, then he deserved that. If she was the reason for his sobriety, then she was an alright person.

"I get it," he whispered. Would him and Zoe find their way back to one another? Or where they be doomed to live the rest of their lives alone, because he was afraid of ruining what they had? He knew he could ask himself questions like that all day long, but it wouldn't change anything. She was still leaving in a year's time. His only choice was to keep her close and enjoy every second he had with her. "I've got to swing by Zoe's and drop her luggage off. I'll be back later."

"Boy, you might want to take a shower first." Wade looked down, seeing that he was still in his clothes from yesterday. He best go freshen up first.

After Zoe had a shower she walked downstairs. She smiled at her parents getting herself some breakfast that had been made. She had woken up earlier then she had thought was possible with as tired as she felt when she had finally been able to lay in her own bed. She had left her window open a crack, just in case Wade had made his way back over, but he hadn't and she felt a little disappointed but she understood that he needed to be at home.

"How was your trip?" Candice asked, sipping on her coffee.

"Fun, but I'm happy to be home," she explained, sitting at the table, ready to dig into her food.

"That's good," Candice replied, getting up. She had to finish getting ready for work. She may have lived in Bluebell, but her office was in Mobile.

"Anything happen?" Harley asked, once it was only father and daughter left at the table.

"Not really. We fought on the way there, but we've worked it out. The rest of the time we spent on the bench or doing a little sight-seeing," she shrugged. There was no way she was going to tell her father that she had lost her virginity in Florida to Wade. She was close to her dad, but there was some things that even he didn't need to know about until she was married and expecting her first child.

"That's good, sweetie." Zoe nodded at her father's words and started to eat her food.

It wasn't until she was finishing her breakfast when her dad had to head to the practice leaving her alone. Not that she was alone for long when Wade had showed up, hauling her luggage in when he entered the house.

"The nerve of that man?" He huffed, dropping onto the couch.

"What he do now?" Zoe asked, sitting by him. She had figured it had to do something with being drunk. What she was about to be told, would completely take her off guard.

With one breath, Wade told Zoe everything. She was shocked, really shocked. She was happy that Earl was doing better and that things seemed to be going good for him. Wade didn't seem all that bothered by it either, now that he had explained what was going on.

"I'm happy for him," he finally told her. His dad deserved this and he would support him. He knew his dad loved his mom and it was time, to move on and enjoy the rest of his life.


	17. Chapter 17

The rest of summer had breezed by them. That was to be expected when they both spent it working. They had taken time to hang with their friends and have fun and that had only made the days move by them faster.

With it being their last year, the first few months wasted no time in coming to an end. Before they knew it winter break was upon them.

"You doing ok?" Zoe asked softly, sitting on the ground by him, seeing the bouquet of flowers that lay on the grave they sat by. It had been common for him to skip a few nights from climbing through her window after dark, she missed it, but his life at home was better now. Janet wasn't trying to be his mother, just a friend. But Zoe knew this time of the year was hard on him and she was certain that he would show up, but he hadn't and she knew where to find him.

"I miss her," he whispered. He sat like a stone, his eyes fixed in front of him. Zoe moved closer to him, slipping her arm through his, her head resting on his shoulder.

Every year at this time, this is where Wade came. Zoe followed him after an hour and sat with him. Nothing was ever said between friends.

_"Wade?" Zoe questioned, hearing a small sob, from the corner of her room._

_"She's gone," was his choked up reply. Zoe went to him, using the light from the moon. She hugged him tight, her own tears coming out._

_The world had stopped for two little kids. Zoe felt the need to hold her tears in, she needed to be strong for Wade. He didn't need to deal with her crying her eyes out. Not in his time of need._

_"I need for this to be okay. I need my Mom, Zoe. I need her here with me. She can't be gone," he demanded, only to break down again. Zoe pulled him even closer, rubbing his back soothingly._

_"Wade, I can't bring her back, but things are going to be okay, with time. You'll see. I'm not going anywhere, I'll always be here for you, I promise." It wasn't the same, she knew that, but she hadn't lost a parent, she didn't know what to say to him._

_"I know," he sniffled. "Thank you," he whispered, shutting his eyes, ready to forget that today ever happened._

"I was so lost, without her," he commented, bringing her back from past memories. "Not that I had life figured out then, it was hard to lose her and my dad and brother all within a year."

"But you have your dad now, Wade. As for Jesse maybe one day."

"I'm not counting on it," he scoffed. "But that's alright. I've got everything I need," he told her softly, moving to put an arm around her. Zoe leaned into his warmth. The wind had started to blow since she sat down.

_Zoe sat next to Wade in the front of the church, her little hand wrapped around his. The words that had been spoke, never registered in either child's heads. It was hard to say if the words had ever made it to them. Wade sat in his chair, silent tears running down his face, pain in his green eyes. How was he supposed to say goodbye? _

_The luncheon that followed, wasn't any better. He couldn't deal with the pity the town was giving him. Zoe was the only one that didn't see him any different. Treated him the way she always had. He couldn't deal any longer, he ran from the town square, ending up at a little pond. He sat on the edge, throwing rocks into the water._

_"I brought you a piece of Mrs. Breeland's double fudge cheesecake," Zoe told him, announcing her presence. He gave her a weak smile._

_"I'm in no mood for food, Zo," he told her, turning his attention back to the water. It was hard enough to function, let alone try to think of conversation._

_"I'm not going to make you eat, your a big boy now. I'm not here to make you tell me how you're holding up. I already know you feel broke, I just want to sit here by you, so you're not alone. So that if you happen to need to talk to someone, I'm right here," she told him softly, tossing a rock into the pond. For the first time that day, he let a smile break through the scowl he had worn for the past week. Zoe really was the best friend a person could have._

"Seriously, Zoe. Thank you for everything that you have done for me, ever. I'm stronger because of you."

"You're welcome," she whispered. He didn't need to hear that he would have been fine without her. Nope, he needed to hear what Zoe told him.

Under the stars, in the wind, two friends sat in the cemetery, because one of them needed to be there. He needed to feel close to his mother, and this was the one place for him to feel her.

"This is my thanks, Zo. I owe so much to you, but this is yours," his words were soft, when he spoke. She took the small box from his hand. She opened it to see that his Mom's necklace with a heart shared pendent with a single diamond lay within the heart. "She would have wanted you to have it."

"Wade." She choked back tears, at a loss at what to say. For him to give her this necklace, was huge. It was special.

"I want you to have it, Zo." She kissed his cheek, letting her head fall back onto his shoulder, the light from the moon making the diamond sparkle. They didn't need to label what they were, it really didn't matter. What they had between them was special and it couldn't be replaced or even lost.


	18. Chapter 18

"Lemon, what's going on?" Zoe asked walking into her friend's room.

"My parents just informed me, I'm going to be a big sister," Zoe looked at her friend funny. She couldn't fathom what was so wrong about having a baby sibling. She would have enjoyed that.

"What's wrong with that?" Zoe asked, realizing she wasn't going to get any more from her friend.

"It's like they were waiting for me to leave," she huffed, pacing her bedroom.

"Lemon, we still have 4 months left of school, then you have the Belles, you're not exactly going anywhere."

"Still, Zoe. They want to replace me. Was I that bad?" Zoe wouldn't use the word bad to describe Lemon. Blunt, straightforward, were just two words, one could use.

"They don't want to replace you, Lemon. I don't see the big deal here. You're going to be a big sister. Suck it up, Lemon, seriously. Now I need to go."

"Wait! You can't blow me off, for Wade!"

"I'm not, my parent's want to have a family day before I leave for college in August."

"Or they're going to say you're going to be a big sister," Lemon huffed.

"Then I'll be happy for them," Zoe shrugged, walking out. "I didn't expect to see you around here this time of year."

"I wasn't supposed to be here, but my grandma isn't doing so well."

"I'm sorry Lavon. I hope she get's better."

"Thanks big Z." Zoe gave him a smile, turning the corner.

"Lavon, we just heard about your Grandma." With the sudden distraction, Zoe hurried inside to get a drink of water.

"How was Lemon?" Candice asked, entering the room.

"She was freaking out because she's going to be a big sister. Can you believe that?" Zoe asked. "So what are we doing exactly?"

"Dinner and a play in Fairhope. Nothing to outrageous, go get ready." Zoe rushed upstairs, at her mother's words. As much as she wanted to spend time with her parents, she wasn't feeling up to par about spending her Saturday night with her parents and not her friends. She had to suck it up, though, and she would.

Dinner had moved along nicely. Her parents had seemed to forget she was along with them. They had their own conversation going on. She supposed she could have chimed in, but she was relishing in the fact, they weren't asking about her life. School hadn't even been talked about. They said no more about Wade. When she got back they asked how the trip was, but at times it was like they were giving her the cold shoulder. Did they enjoy not having her around? She enjoyed not having them around, but did they want her gone?

Things were great with her and Wade. They were still best friends, they weren't focused on finding a mate. This was going to be their year. So far it had been.

"The sweet-heart dance is Friday. Would it be lame, if we went? We're not sweet-hearts." Even to him that sounded lame. Deep down he knew they were. One day they'd have it figured out, but that wasn't today. It was, how it was.

"It wouldn't be lame. We've went to dance's together before."

"True, but never the sweet-heart dance," he stated, cutting her off.

"I know," she sighed. "But it wouldn't be lame. It would be us. We're more than best friends, Wade."

"I know," he replied, pulling the tickets from his back pocket. "That's why I bought these, this morning. It's my job to make sure you make it to every dance this year." Zoe smiled pulling him in for a hug. He was proving himself to be the best all over again.

"You're the best!" He smirked, holding her close. It wouldn't suck, not when Zoe was going to be the one on his arm.

Friday had came fast, like it does every week. Wade fussed with the collar of his black button down dress shirt. This was the most he had been dressed up in a long time. Could you really say he was dressed up, though? Besides the shirt he had on dark blue jeans. The dance wasn't formal, just semi-formal.

"Looking good boy," Earl told him the second he appeared downstairs.

"Thanks," he mumbled, walking to his truck. Things with his dad were still going good. He hadn't had a sip since Janet walked back into his life. He was still warming up to the idea of his dad dating her, he needed to be happy. He really did understand that but some days it was harder them others to see his dad happy with some one who wasn't his mom.

Zoe finished her hair, stepping back to see her reflection. Her hair was pinned up, make-up was light. Her red sweet-heart dress hugged her like a glove. The dress stopped short of her knees. Her red heels completed the look.

"Wade is going to be speechless."

"You think?" She asked, turning to her mom.

"I know so. He's downstairs waiting."

With every step she took, the butterflies in her stomach started to wake. She had to stop to control her nerves, she just didn't understand, why she was being so silly for.

"Wow! Zoe, you are beautiful." She blushed lightly at his comment.

"Home by 12:30," Harley told them. "You are beautiful, sweetie." She gave her dad a smile and headed out.

"Thanks for this, Wade," she commented.

"It's nothing. You wanna walk?" He was in no hurry to be at the school. Everything he needed to make this night amazing, he had.

"We can walk," she replied, relishing in the few extra minutes of them alone.

Every shade of red and pink filled the gym. Balloon's, streamers and hearts were everywhere you looked. It was almost over kill. But the smile that formed on Zoe's face, was worth it to Wade. They had danced to about every song that had been played in the last hour. They got some punch that was red with pink ice cubes.

Zoe loved it, but she could see Wade was ready to head out. Not that she didn't blame him. Love was everywhere you looked. It was a bit nauseating.

"We can go," she told him over the loud beat of the song that was being played.

"You sure? I don't want to ruin your night."

"You couldn't do that, Wade," she assured him. He nodded taking her hand, weaving their way through the sea of students.

They took up residency in the gazebo in town square. Nothing was said as they gazed at the sky that was filled with stars.

From that night on time passed them by fat to quickly. Their days were filled with finals. On the bright side of things Prom was in the mix of all the finals. Wade had bought the tickets, Zoe protested. But Wade wouldn't cave. Zoe's dress was gold, leaving Wade with a black suit, gold vest and a gold tie.

They had shared a limo with their friends. This time the gym had looked as if it had threw up stars, streamers and balloons in every color ever made. It was going to be a night to remember.

Songs had been danced too, punch had been drank and Zoe let Wade leave early yet again. The gazebo was where they sat.

"Thank you for making my Senior year the best year of school." With only a few weeks left, Zoe hated to see it come. She knew what she was going to be losing.

"I should be the one thanking you. Some of my best memories were from this year. The school year isn't over with yet."

"Close enough," she replied.

"We did have a good run, Zo."

"You act like this is it for us. One minute, we have time and the next you say it's over." She was getting flustered with him. "What one is it, Wade?"

"It is," he replied with a heavy sigh. "We have time, but it's not going to last."

"I know," she whispered. "Why don't we go somewhere like Philly or New York, this summer. Extend our time together," she suggested.

"Why don't we just go where the road leads us. No wasting time to pick a place, let's just drive and stop in the first town that holds both our interest."

"Ok," she replied. That sounded pretty good to her. Less time planning and more time to spend with each other. Summer was looking to be a good one. She had to stop worrying about the fall and focus on today. The stars were amazing. Sharing the night with her best friend made it that much more special, to her.


	19. Chapter 19

Zoe found herself standing outside the school, one last time. Today marked 14 years of education. Dating all the way back to pre-school or rather headstart. Today was her day. That didn't stop the butterflies from beating her inside's up. With one final look, she walked through the doors going to her directed spot.

She sat listening to the principle and others go on about achieving greatness. Her eyes were busy scanning the sea of students. She had no luck trying to find Wade. Did he not come?

"Please welcome your class valedictorian, Zoe Wilkes." Zoe made her way to the stage. Taking her spot, her eyes once again searched for Wade. This time she found him. His cool smile, had her nerves calming down.

"I tried to write this speech a dozen times, but it never sounded right. I couldn't figure out why, until now. It wasn't until I was standing here that I felt this wave of emotion. Happy, sad, excited. I needed to be here, in order to know what today felt like. Looking back we have spent the majority of our time in school. Even now, I wish we would have had nap time, right up to our senior year. Sleeping in class doesn't count. But ever since our first day of school, we have learned valuable lesson's. Sharing to quadratic formula's, dissecting animals to learning about our history as the United State's. We traveled aboard without ever leaving our seats. We counted days, marked the calender, even skipped school days, wanting today to come. Now that it has, I want just a few more days to be back inside. Everything changes today. College calls for us whether it be nearby or states away. Our lives as grown ups start today," Zoe paused, scanning through the people. Smiling at her parents. "Everyone of us, are doing something different with our lives. We've dreamed so big for so long and now we get to live out our dreams, whatever they may be. This is just the beginning for all of us. We have a world to explore. We need to thank our parents, our teachers for getting us ready for us to be out in the world. No one is stopping you. Don't reach for the stars, no, reach beyond them. Live like today is your last day," she finished, going back to her seat, everyone clapping for her.

With a blink of an eye graduation was over with. As bitter-sweet as today was, she couldn't wait until the fall. She was ready for the next phase of her life. What she wasn't ready for was giving Wade up. She had a few months to spend with him.

"We should just elope," Wade commented standing by her. He was kidding, at least that was the plan when he walked up to her. But the more he thought about, the better the idea sounded.

"What?" She asked, taken-back. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. With the look on his face, he was being dead serious.

"Hit up, Vegas. Tie the knot. We're both 18, why not?" He wouldn't date her but he would marry her, that seemed strange to her.

"Why?" She asked, moving to a place where they had more privacy. He shrugged, without putting much thought into, he didn't have an answer for her.

"Why not? We love each other." Sadly she needed more than that from him.

"Are you willing to move across the country, while I continue my education?"

"Nope!" That was what she had been afraid of. He would have, but did she really need him there to look after her. He wanted to build a life in Bluebell while she was away.

"They why waste my time?" Was he jealous that she might find someone else?

"I thought you loved me?" He asked, between pissed and hurt. He didn't think it would hurt quite so much.

"I do love you, Wade. But I'm not going to marry you in hope's that I'll stay. I'm leaving come August. Distance won't ruin our friendship. I'll be back every chance I get. I could never abandon you, ever," she explained softly.

"That isn't what this is about," he snapped, pushing past her.

"Then explain it to me," she begged, grabbing for his hand. Only for him to move his hand away.

"Forget it. Go live your life, Zoe. Every great thing comes to end, I guess we do too."

"No! Not again, Wade. I won't let you do it."

"Can't you see, it won't work?" He asked, looking down.

"Then let's go get married."

"Now who's the pathetic one?" He asked, walking off.

"Forget you, Wade Kinsella! I don't need you any how!" She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to fix things between them. If that's what he wanted, this is what he is getting. She wasn't the one to walk away, he was.

Most graduation parties had already been held. All that was really left, was to enjoy the next 3 months of summer, before it all came crashing down around her. She had already agreed to spend most her summer working at the practice. A good chuck of June was free, but that had been reserved for one last road trip with Wade. Now she had to find something else to take up that time.

"What's Wade's deal?" Lemon asked, sitting by her at the Butter Stick.

"How should I know? We're not friends anymore."

"Why now?" Lemon groaned.

"I can't read that boy's mind." There was no way Zoe was going to tell Lemon what had really happened.

"He's so bi-polar. But still an idiot." Zoe wasn't going to argue with her there. Wade was well Wade. That didn't explain anything, but Zoe was having a hard time, trying to explain Wade.

Summer moved by fast. Her things she needed for college where packed in the car. Harley had taken the time off to drive her out to California. She had said good-bye to her friends, except for Wade. She tried, he just wouldn't listen, so instead, she left him a note, in the one place she was sure he would find it.

Wade watched from the tree he was perched in. He watched as he let his best friend leave. Or was she now his ex-best friend? It no longer mattered, he let her go because he was too damn selfish. He pulled her window open from the outside. Climbing in her room seemed bare, now. Not much was missing, but it wasn't the same. He laid on her bed, closing his eyes, breathing in the warm vanilla sent that was her. A lone tear escaped its confines, leaving a cold trace of salt water on his face. All he ever did was screw up, the things that were important to him. He opened the letter he had been ignoring.

_Wade,_

_Marriage is a huge step. It's not something to be treated lightly. I do love you. And if the circumstance's would have been different, if we were older, I would have ran away with you. My dreams aren't to sit at home and be a house wife. Please, Wade do the one thing that makes you happy._

_You were the one to encourage me, to chase my dreams, whatever it was. I'm doing just that. But, Wade, do know that after I become a doctor, my dreams aren't over. I want to get married, to build a family in Bluebell. They say or maybe it's just Lemon talking, that we marry our best friend. I would be lucky to marry you at some point in the future, Wade. Even if you don't see it, I do. You're special to me, that won't ever change. One day, I'll make you see, that we are meant to be. Because we are._

_I'll be back Wade. These next few years with holiday breaks and summers mixed in, will seem like nothing._

_I don't hate you, Wade. I could never hate you. My heart is filled with nothing but love for you._

_This isn't good-bye either, Wade. Bluebell is my home._

_Love your best friend, _

_Zoe_

_P.S. My window will always be open, for you, wherever I may land in the future._

He scoffed, stuffing the note into his pocket. He wanted to believe every word she wrote, he just didn't think, she would be back. He was touched by the thought and the love Zoe put behind the words. But she had left Bluebell. Amazing things were going to come her way. He was happy and proud. She deserved so much from life. This was her time to become someone and he wouldn't ruin it any more than he already had. This was good-bye.


	20. Chapter 20

She had stayed gone longer than she had ever planned on. With things bad between her and Wade, she didn't want to come home. She finished college in California, got a job offer in New York. She took the job right away. The job was at a smaller hospital in a rural area. It was nothing like Bluebell and she had fear every time she left the comfort of her apartment.

It was like every summer Wade would give her the cold shoulder, she finally gave up, realizing he no longer wanted her in his life. She couldn't figure out why, though. Did he wake up and realize that he no longer loved her? Every day it pained her to know she couldn't be with the one person she loved more than life. But she could only do so much, he had to put effort forward too.

She always planned on returning home. She just didn't think it would be under such a dire circumstance, that had shattered her heart. It was something she didn't want to believe.

She hailed a cab from the airport in Mobile, going straight to the hospital, her luggage in tow.

"Mom, how is he?" She asked, reaching the ICU.

"Not good at all." Zoe sighed. She couldn't stand this. They had been fighting for years, for what? "I'll take your stuff home. Someone is always here." She nodded handing her bags over. Taking a deep-breath, she walked into room 3. She gasped seeing the tubes and wires hooked to him.

"Oh, Wade," she sighed sitting next to the bed. His hand felt warm against her own. "I should've been here for you. I'm so sorry, Wade," she sniffled, feeling the warm salty tears trickle down her cheeks. "You need to get better, you need to wake up. You may not need me, but I sure in the hell need you."

She sat watching his chest raise and fall. Time wasn't something she kept track of. She wanted her best friend back. After the last six years, he still held her heart.

"Hey." She looked up hearing the voice that broke through the beeping of the machines.

"Hi," she greeted, her eyes going to the pale skin that covered his face.

"Why don't you go get a coffee and something to eat," George suggested, moving further into the room. She didn't want to leave Wade's side.

"What happened?" She asked. Other then Wade's in critical condition, she wasn't told more. She didn't wait for more.

"Car accident," George replied. "He went through the windshield." That explained the scars she had noticed. Nodding, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, she rushed from the room.

She sat a table in the cafeteria with a tea and a salad. Not able to stomach anything else. She found herself pushing the green leaves around in the container it came in. She couldn't get the image of Wade out of her head. The worst part of it all. She wanted to be the doctor to look after him. To be his nurse. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing, while he fought for his life. She had to sit there though and she would. She wasn't going to leave his side. She owed him that much.

"How you doing?" She looked up from her salad to see Annabeth.

"I feel like it's my fault, AB," she sighed, tossing her fork down. "I've been gone for so long. The last time I saw him, we got into an argument. Ever since we admitted our feelings at 17, we have been on the outs. I hated it then and I don't like it any better now."

"Zoe, it's not your fault." Zoe shook her had.

"It is. I should have smacked him and forced him to listen to me. I should have came home sooner."

"Zoe, you could have done a lot of crap differently, but you didn't. He understood what you needed to do. He actually went to see you once." Zoe gave her a confused look.

"He did not!" She had never saw him. "When?"

"Two years ago." Her head fell. She missed him. He came to her. Did he want to fix things as badly as she does?

"I didn't know," she sighed. She shoved her salad away getting to her feet. "I need to go." AB nodded, letting her go. "What happened?" Zoe asked in a frenzy, seeing the room he was in was now empty.

"They moved him downstairs. He had made enough progress to be taken off a few machines. It's just a matter of time before he wakes." Zoe nodded and quickly followed behind George. Neither one said a single word until they were right outside the room.

"Wait!" Zoe called, making George stop. "Why did he come to see me, but leave before talking to me?" She asked, hoping Wade had opened up to him about it.

"I really don't know, Zoe. He said you were doing good. No one had ever questioned him about talking to you. We thought he had," he shrugged walking off, leaving Zoe alone. Sighing she entered the room.

"Why?" She asked, moving a chair closer to the bed. She took his hand in her own. "We both made so many mistake's since the young age of 17, I counted on you for so long, took you for granted. I had always thought you'd be there for me." She looked at him, letting a sight out. "I was wrong, huh? I wanted to fix us so many times I just didn't know how to do that. The longer it went, the harder it was to fix. I just hope it's not to late." She wouldn't be able to stand herself, if she let too much time pass. "Why, didn't you come to me in New York? I've never hated you Wade, I've always loved you. We would have worked out. We were best friends, nothing was stopping us from being together except us," she frowned, her thumb caressing the back of his hand. "We would have worked," she whispered, letting the beeping of a machine take over.

She sat with Wade watching as nurse's came in to check on him every so often. The world outside the window turned from a blue sky to a black one. Her fingers absentmindedly playing with the heart pendent Wade had gave her. It meant so much to her because it meant so much to Wade. She hardly ever took it off.

"I'm sorry miss, but visiting hours are over with." Zoe nodded.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Wade. Think about waking up, please?" She asked, placing a kiss to his cheek.

"How are you, sweetie?" Harley asked, standing up when Zoe walked out.

"Tired," she told him. "Mostly I feel hopeless. I want to do so much, but I can't do a thing to help him. I feel as if this is all my fault. Karma, coming back around to have a nice little laughter fit. I hate seeing him laying in that bed so lifeless." She was on the verge of a breakdown. Harley noticed opening his arms. Zoe fell into her father's embrace and let the tears take over.

"Sweetie, aren't you going to eat?" Candice asked her daughter, later that night.

"I'm not hungry." In retrospect, she should be eating. She had missed breakfast when she rushed off to the airport. Her salad at the hospital went to waste. She was having a hard-time with Wade being in the hospital.

"Zoe, you should know how important it is to eat," Harley told her. He knew how hard this was on his daughter. Starving herself wasn't going to solve anything. "You can't help, Wade, if you're laying in a hospital bed."

"You're right," she sighed. She forced herself to eat the meatloaf, mashed potatoes and baby carrots. She didn't feel any better. She felt worse actually.

She bid her parents good night and retreated up to her room. It was exactly the same as when she left for college years ago. They first thing she did was open her window a crack. Who knew, he might come to, in the middle of the night and sneak through her window.

Come morning there was a chill in her room. Sighing she closed the window and headed downstairs. The most she was able to eat was some dry toast. Her parents were gone but they left her a note saying she could use the car. She took a shower and headed off to Mobile.

"Hey," she whispered, seeing that Wade was awake. George and Lavon walked out to leave them alone.

"Hi," he greeted. Zoe smiled nervously, sitting by his bed. She had the urge to reach out for his hand but fought her urge to do so. "You didn't have to come," he snapped. He cringed at the tone he used. He wanted her here. He just couldn't stop pushing her away.

"I know, but I want to be here," she told him firmly. "Why?"

"You need to be a little more specific, Zo." She smiled on the inside. When he was truly mad at her, he always called her Zoe.

"Why do you keep pushing me away? Why didn't you talk to me, when you came to New York?" Zoe asked, looking down.

"You know about that, huh?" She looked up meeting his gaze. She gave him a nod. "You looked happy, like you belonged there. Who was I to ruin that? I've only ever wanted you to be happy."

"I was my happiest when I was with you, Wade."

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Why? Because I can't be happy with you?" She wasn't going to cry. She found it hard to stop the tears.

"No," he sighed. "Because without me, you can be anyone you want to be anywhere in the world."

"I've been out there, Wade. The best place for me to be is with you. I know what's best for me. What I want, is to be with you," she softly explained, climbing into bed with him.

"We could never work out, Zo," he whispered with a gulp.

"Says who?"

"Everyone, no one," he shrugged.

"Shut up and kiss me," she whispered. He did as told, finding her lips soft and sweet. Tongues dueled, intensifying their kiss.

Days passed by them and Wade was free to go home. Other then a few broken bones, nothing serious was wrong with him. Harley had made room at the practice for Zoe. All she needed to do was go back to New York and get her things.

"Do you really have to leave?" Wade asked, holding her to him in a tight hug.

"I need my things, Wade," she whispered against his lips. "I don't want to leave, but I need to tie up everything else. I'll be back the second I can be." She was kicking herself in the ass for not doing everything before she came back.

"I'll be here doing nothing," he sighed. She frowned.

"I say it's ok if you go into work as long as you take it easy. No sense in you over doing it." She could see it was hard for him to stay in.

"If the Doc, says it, who am I to defy orders?" He asked with a grin. Zoe rolled her eyes.

The plane ride to New York was long and boring. She would rather be home in Bluebell. Lavon had suggested she could stay in the carriage house. It was better then staying at home until she found a place. She was quite in love with her neighbor. Though Wade wasn't so bad on the eyes either. She really wanted to gator nap, Burt Reynolds.

Going through her things, she realized she didn't need half of her wardrobe. She didn't have much any ways. Other then her shoes and clothes, she had some pictures and some odds and ends that needed to be shipped off. Everything could either stay in the apartment or she would donate.

"We hate that we're losing you, Zoe. Good luck in your future endeavors." Zoe smiled at her boss.

"Thank you for everything," Doctor Lewis nodded. She walked out looking for Jessica, who wasn't that hard to find. "You still want my place?" Zoe asked.

Two hours later Zoe was on a plane home. She was going home, going back to Wade. She was determined to make everything work out. Maybe it was best they hadn't tried dating at the age of 17. It might not have worked out. She would make sure it worked out this time. He was the only one for her.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a chuckle.

"You made it seem like it was easy. You can't go crawling through my window. Figured I'd give it a try," Zoe explained, joining him on the bed.

"I love you, Zoe." He wore a silly grin.

"I love you, Wade," she replied with a matching grin, pressing her lips against his. This is the way it should have always been. Them together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you to everyone that had made this story. Thank you for the follows, for the favorites and a special thank you to every single person that has taken the time to leave a review.<strong>_


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